10 Days in Italy -- What Would You Do?
 

I may have the opportunity to go to Italy for 10 days in September. I've been there several times and have hit the major sites -- Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples - before. How would you lay out the time? (I am not opposed to a north-south or vice versa flight at some point during the trip, but would prefer to focus on Italy and maybe dig a little deeper than the typical starter tourist itinerary). Thoughts appreciated!! :)

Umbria, lakes and mountains, religious sites, art. Seriously give Umbria a loook. I love it.

I would probably go to Sicily or Pulia.
I would also consider a language school, with a home stay.

Another would be to pick two or three towns with something that especially apeals to you personally and explore those. Bologna for food, Vicenza for architecture, etc. perhaps opera or archeological sites.

You mentiond Naples, but have you been to the Amalfi Coast? If not, that would be first on my list.

A fun choice you have to make.

It depends on your interests! You certainly aren't hurting for options. :-)

But in a rare moment, I disagree with Sassafrass -- wait for Sicily until you can give it at least 2 weeks, if not more.

You mean you are out of ideas already???
Just in the North, just listing the major destinations:
Lake Como
Lake Maggiore
Lake Garda
Ligurian coast
Milan
Emilia Romagna - Parma, Modena, Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara...
Veneto- Padova, Vicenza, Verona, Cortina..
Trentino Alto-Adige - Bolzano,Castelrotto, Ortisei...
Tuscany - Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montichiello, Montalcino, Cortona, Arezzo, Pisa, Lucca ...
Umbria - Perugia, Gubbio, Assisi, Orvieto, Civita di Bagnoregio ...

A lot of the above advice depends if you rent a car or not. Umbria, Tuscany, Abruzzo - all difficult to see by public transportation.

September is high season so where you go could depend on what is available.

I would go to Sicily.

I would have a hard time choosing between a combo of Umbria and Tuscany and a combo of the Dolomites and a lake. The arriving and departing airports would be the decider.

In the south Sept is more shoulder season, could look at Puglia, Basilicata, Le Marche with ease.

In the North you could look at the Po valley as the tourism pressure will be easing. Bologna and cities all around

Puglia and Basilicata are very lovely but we also enjoyed Friuli, the Veneto and Le Marche. We visited them on several different trips but they could make a great trip starting at Trieste, the Roman mosaics of Aquileia and working your way past Vicenza and Palladio's villas, past Ravenna, Urbino etc. It really depends what you like, you could go walking in the Dolomiti. Personally I could easily spend ten days in Rome. What did you like about your prior visits to Italy? Food, architecture, museums...?

Dig deeper into which aspect of Italy? Art or history or small towns or shopping? What did you enjoy most about your trip last time? What did you like least? What bores you? Did you want to revisit someplace, or wish you could have had more of the same experience (like, more cathedrals or more seafood?) -- or are you thinking that doing something totally different -- like going for walks in the spectacular Dolomiti peaks, or hanging out on an Italian island or lake, or staying on an organic farm and going bike riding, or visiting car and motorcycle museums? Opera? Cooking class? Mosaics? Horseback riding?

I you have seen Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples it might be interesting for you to visit Northern Italy this time. The great lakes (Garda, Como, Maggiore, Iseo) are beautiful in September and offer scenery, swimming, gardens, art, architecture, history, wine, food etc.

You can drive into the Dolomites to get some mountain feeling. There are big cities with lots of history, arts and architecture like Milano and Verona.

Sicily has lots to offer too - Greek heritage, the Normannic Cathedral near Palermo, Mount Etna, the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. So, you may spend 5 or 6 days in Northern Italy and then fly to Sicily for the remainder of your time.

Sicily is fabulous but I agree with the advice above - wait until you have at least 2 weeks to travel. I think I would do a Tuscany/Umbria combo or visit the lakes. September is a lovely time to travel in Italy. You would probably need a car for the Tuscany portion. You don't say what you like to do and who is traveling which makes it a bit more difficult to make suggestions.

I would fly in and out of Milan (make sure to see The Last Supper and spend a day in Milan, which is much lovelier than most people realize), then spend a few days on the Lakes and head down to the Cinque Terra for the rest of your time.