Sarasota is a city in Sarasota County on the Southwestern coast of Florida, USA. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. These islands (known as keys) include Siesta Key and Lido Key and are famous worldwide for the quality of their beaches.

Bertha Honoré Palmer was the region's largest landholder, rancher, and developer at the turn of the twentieth century. In 1914, she bought 16,000 acres (65 km²) of land as an exclusive hunting preserve in what is now Temple Terrace, Florida (near Tampa) in Hillsborough County which she called Riverhills Ranch. During the 1920's Mrs. Palmer owned a large tract of land that is now Myakka State Park. During this period of time this land was operated as a ranch. Mrs. Palmer's foreman on the ranch was Eugene B. Sweeting and several of his children were born in what is now the State Park. Gerald E. "Buck" Sweeting who was born in the Park still lives in Sarasota. Mrs. Palmer made her winter residence on the land which the Webb family had homesteaded. She quickly established Sarasota as a fashionable location for winter retreats and tourists. In her early publicity, Palmer compared the beauty of Sarasota Bay to the Bay of Naples, and also touted its sports fishing. As the century advanced, the bay continued to attract visitors, until overfishing depleted its marine life.

Palmer retained most of the Webb’s original structures and greatly expanded the settlement. The pioneer site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Historic Spanish Point and is open to the public for a fee.

Sarasota is the home of Florida West Coast Symphony, founded by Ruth Cotton Butler in 1949. It has a three-week Sarasota Music Festival. Other attractions are the Sarasota Ballet; Sarasota Opera; Florida Studio Theater; The Sarasota Players; and other musical, dance, artistic, and theatrical venues.

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