I love Florence’s great art institutions, but I’ve done the usual museum circuit (and done it again). This time, I wanted the Andrew Harper Travel Office to organize for me a more curated experience, so to speak. I was delighted with the itinerary my advisor arranged: an engaging half-day centered on the intersection of fashion and history in Florence.

Our charming guide, Veronica, first led my traveling companion and me to the Pitti Palace, where we breezed past the line to get in. Once home to the Medici court, the imposing building has long set the tone for the city’s style and cultural scene. It hosted Italy’s first modern fashion show in 1952, and it was the original home of Pitti Immagine Uomo, arguably the world’s most important men’s fashion show. The palace also contains the Museum of Costume and Fashion. The displays of rare garments trace the progression from Medici-era opulence through the audacious silhouettes of the 1920s flapper era and on to modern avant-garde styles.

Next, we visited the fascinating Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, which presented Ferragamo not just as a designer but as a principal figure in the postwar revival of Italian craftsmanship. Our excursion concluded at Palazzo Gucci, home to a boutique, a restaurant and exhibition rooms, including a striking space with floor-to-ceiling mirrored glass cases displaying hundreds of handbags. Here, we had a private escort, whose tour for us included us a gallery that wasn’t open to the public because it was in the midst of changing shows.