Perhaps somewhere in Campania might fit the bill?
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/tele

Or maybe a few days over in Puglia...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/pugliagen

Peter

Summer in Italy is usually hot. The lakes might be a cooler alternative than some of the southern destinations.

ditto, mama

After 16 trips to Italy, my favorite is still " the lakes".
But, that can really be 3 destinations. Como is hard to beat.

Lakes, yes.

Perugia is pretty special. Several universities give it a nifty vibe.

What kinds of activities do you prefer?

Are you a solo traveler? How do you feel about a car? For both of those reasons, I have little interest in visiting the lakes region, especially considering America is full of lakes - however, we don't have Tuscan hill towns, Roman ruins, or thousand year old churches. On a second trip I'd probably do Siena/Lucca or Naples/Amalfi.

I spent 1.5 weeks on Lake Garda last July and it was fantastic! There are so many little towns along the lake that are fun to visit and there are plenty of beaches if you want to relax. You are also close enough to the larger cities (Milan, Verona + Venice) if you want to re-visit them. Alternatively, I was just in Sienna for a few days and I highly recommend the Tuscan area. We stayed at a charming villa on a farm and could have spent day wandering the small towns, drinking wine, etc.

I'm was in a similar position when i was looking for an italian language course, as lots of them are based in the big cities that I have already visited. i ended up booking one on the Tuscan coast, in Orbetello on the Tyreenean sea. I'm really looking forward to seeing some "real" Italy away from the major tourist centres.

If you love great food and wine, and like zipping around on good roads, Friuli Venezia Giulia is incredibly rewarding, with lots of ways to escape the heat -- the Julian Alps and the seashore are within a days drive of each other. There is truly great wine country along borderlands with Slovenia, plus the fascination of cafe-filled Trieste (home of Illy), with charming beach towns nearby. If you like antiquity, you can stop by Aquiliea, and if you like beautiful charming small Italian towns, you can stop by Civedale dei Friuli and Udine from a base in the wine country of Cormons. If you like Alpine and lakeside walks, teeny mountain towns and extraordinarily food, the border with Austria.

I would fly into Trieste, but Venice is also an easy airport for accessing Friuli Venezia Giulia. Just rent a car and go.

if you don't have a car, consider Napoli, Salerno and the southern half of the Amalfi coast. You can see the rest of the Amalfi drive in a day on the bus. Wine won't be as great, but the pasta and seafood is fantastic if you eat outside of the tourist mega-spots (Sorrento, Positano, Capri). You can do that trip in less than a week flying in and out of Naples, and can even do it flying it and out of Rome.

It will be hot. We were in both the Lakes and Italian Alps in early July last summer and it was still hot there. However, if that is when you can go then go!! I would recommend Italian Alps and Bologna. Link to my trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/eat-in-bologna-ferry-in-bellagio-hike-the-dolomites-shop-in-milan.cfm