What is the nighlife scene like in Italy. My friend and i are going to be there vacationing and while i am typically not a "club" person in the states, i would maybe like to let loose one night and go dancing or go to a bar for a beer/wine with the 30's crowd.

We will be in Venice and Flroence..then Pienza (which I am going to assume has little night life and we will do a lot of relaxing there) then to Positano.
Any thoughts or suggestions?

In Venice, the nightlife (and Venice is not noted for nightlife) is found in Dorsoduro, Campo Margerita. Lots of bars there, and that's where the student population hangs out.

Chet's Bar - on your left, at the end of the Campo furtherest from San Marco - pours a good spritz. Will cost you about 2 euro.

Pienza is a quiet little town and everything closes early. There are 4-5 wine bars.
http://www.portalepienza.it/

Florence has some nightlife as it has a lot of students.
http://www.firenzeturismo.it/apt2009...-di-notte.html

Positano has a couple of clubs.
http://www.musicontherocks.it/

An aside: a "nightclub" in Europe is called a disco (I know, conjure images of Travolta-esque suits!), so if you ask for recommendations on nightclubs while you're there, you'll get some odd looks and be pointed in the direction of the strip clubs as that's the term used in Europe.

Florence has a large disco/club scene with different discos to suit each taste. Not sure if you're going soon, but if you are and it's still warm, try Central Park (Parco della Cascine). It's a Summer club as most of it is outdoors, there are three dance areas, bars and lots of people of all ages. Some nights may seem younger than others, but the age group is mixed well on weekends. Or try Yab for a cool crowd, great decor and atmosphere. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday are good nights to go. (NOTE: they close for all of August for their Summer holidays.

A great thing to do is start your evening, ie before dinner, with an aperitivo. Aperitivo "hour" usually starts around 5pm, but 6pm is also acceptable. You'll notice that when you order a drink around this time, you also receive a bowl of small snacks (nuts, crisps, olives, salty crunchy things) free of charge. This is because a) Italians don't drink without eating a little something (it's not stylish to be trashed on alcohol, hence the food to soak it up a little) and b) to get your digestion going for dinner. For this, there are many little bars to go to, and some have even, in the last year or so, begun to have "Italian Tapas" (their word, not mine) whereby they set up a bench of small plates with snacks for all those frequenting the bar to help themselves to, again free of charge.

Try Oibò on the corner of via de'Benci and Borgo de'Greci for a fun atmosphere, music to start your night and great drinks. Or wander over to Piazza Santo Spirito around 5pm to score an outside table/bar space at any enoteca on the square (Cabiria is a good start) and have a drink before dinner...or just stay and have dinner there!

Something worth noting is that many Italian discos/clubs employ a "card" system which you receive when you go in, then you have a section for drinks which is stamped/hole-punched each time your order a corresponding drink. At this point, no money has changed hands. At the end of the night, you present the card to the cashier (just look for the sign either near the bar or the exit) and they tally up how much you owe (average drink cost is around Euro10) then you pay. If you lose the card, it will cost you a flat fee of around Euro50 to exit...so don't lose that card! This only applies to clubs/discos, not regular bars.