At Gucci, people like to call Alessandro Michele the renaissance man. Since his ascent to the role of creative director just over two years ago, the soft-spoken Roman has been hailed as a design visionary, responsible for a dazzling turnaround in fortunes at the Italian luxury house. It felt fitting, then, that Mr. Michele chose Florence at sunset as the backdrop for his 2018 cruise collection.

And not just because Gucci was founded in Florence in 1921 as a leather goods company. Beginning in the 14th century, this city was the place where art was first seen as a way to show intellect and imagination beyond a purpose as decoration or religious tribute. At the center of it all was the Palazzo Pitti, home to the Medici family, a dynasty of bankers, popes and royalty who were patrons to the greatest artists and thinkers of the Renaissance period, including Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. And home, on Monday, to the Gucci resort show.