Tiffany & Ringling; The famed New York house of jewelry has a historical connection with Sarasota's 'House of John.'.(HOME & REAL ESTATE)

Byline: JOHN KARL CORRESPONDENT

One of America's great castles, Ca d'Zan -- "House of John" in the Venetian dialect -- sits right on Sarasota Bay. From 1925 to 1936, it was the home of the flamboyant entrepreneur John Ringling and his wife, Mable. The exuberance of the architecture and furnishings reflects the opulence of the Gilded Age and the 1920s.

Rising out of disrepair, the Venetian Gothic mansion is being readied for a new era, as a museum dedicated to the splendid trappings of the Ringlings. Mirroring the Roaring Twenties' taste for grandeur, the Ringlings surrounded themselves with what epitomized elegance. Their affinity for decorating Ca d'Zan with objects from Tiffany & Co. has linked these two entities in decorative history.

This distinctive historical connection has caught the attention of John Loring, design director of Tiffany & Co. and also an artist, author and historian. He …