planning on visiting the Lake District for a week (pretty sure I'll stay in Varenna) this coming May and considering either hoping over to either Mantova or Turin for 4 days. 4 days might be a bit much for Mantova but I could day trip to Modena or Verona easily. - I'm sure i could stay busy for 4 days in Turin. Any thoughts?

anyone?

What do you expect to see? Museums? Churches? Palaces? What are your interests?

Why Mantova, why Turin? If a daytrip to Verona, why not Vicenza or Padova?

both places have plenty of churches, palazzos, art - but after a bit more thinking I'm leaning towards Torino - mainly because I might want to contrast a urban context to the Lake context. Though the Palazzo Te and Ducale in Mantova sound very interesting.

Did a day trip from Vience to Padova two years ago and was in Bologna last year - did day trips to Modena, Parma and Ravenna. I like that area of Italy. But Piedmont is suppose to have some really good wines. Though maybe I should consider Milan if I want urban context....

Anyone else?

This is such a tough question. Both places are great, great, great, and both greatly underrated. Nobody will be able to advise you where to go - I can just give a few hints what they are like.
Torino is a city, Mantova a town. Both have tranquil, bourgeois, wonderfully old-fashioned flair. Torino is baroque, Mantova is older (mainly Renaissance, but with some important medieval buildings, too). The Piedmont wines are not from the surroundings of Torino, so that wouldn't overly help deciding. But the food is great in both places, and I wouldn't dare deciding where it's better; personally, I'm particularly fond of cucina mantovana, which is a gastronomic world of its own, very different from the rest of Italy. Torino is famous for high-end chocolate.
As far as sights, Torino is rather more important thanks to Guarino Guarini, the local baroque architect - in fact one of the great masters of architecture anyplace, anytime. On the other hand, Mantova has Leon Battista Alberti's church of S. Andrea, which is definitely one of the most important buildings in world's art history (Alberti, one of the founders of Renaissance architecture, kind of already invented the baroque church plan here, in what is one of the earliest Renaissance churches!).
Daytripping to Milan, btw, would be a positively crazy idea... far too big to enjoy on a daytrip!

I was going to say the same as Franco. So I shall simply say bis, and it is to you to choose. You were bending towards Torino and I also would do that.

Franco - thank you for your comments.

I had pretty much decided to visit Tuin (or is it Torino?) because I wanted a bit of urban and art nouveau, for 4 or 5 nights, to contrast with Varenna (town or village?) on Lake Como, for 6 or 7 nights, so as to soak in the vibe and explore the area, then 2 nights in Milan, for more urbaness and a dash of fashion, but now I back to pondering again....

Maybe 5 in Turin, 5 in Varenna and 4 in Milan...if only my problems were always this difficult.

Once again - thanks.

Graziella5b - why do you like Torino?