We are planning a 2 week trip to Iitaly in June 2014. We plan to rent an apartment off of vrbo.com and use it as a home base, rather than a more exhausting "see everything" tour. For various reasons Padova or Orvieto interest us as possible places to rent.
Does anyone have any opinions for or against either for our home base?
Our interests are: food, culture, art, nature.

I've been to both and they are both great ideas for a two week base.

For Orvieto you'd have easy access to Rome, which you would do by train. The other things within day trip distance would probably be better by car - the smaller towns of Tuscany and Umbria. So pick Orvieto if you plan to rent a car, want to see some Tuscan countryside/hilltowns, and want to spend time in Rome.

Padua is very close to Venice (1/2 hr train) but also easy day trip to Verona, Vicenza, Bologna, Ferrera, and other great towns in those regions. Could even do day trip to Florence. Most of that could easily be done by train. So pick Padua if you'd rather not rent a car and those cities interest you.

Of the two Padua is larger and has more to do in the town itself for days you don't want to do day trips. The historic town center is pretty compact/easily walkable but there's quite a bit to see.

I agree with Isabel and would add just one amplifying comment.

Padua is set in a flat, flat plain that extends for miles. The landscape is dull and the area is not known for picturesque small towns and villages. The nearby cities mentioned above are the primary attraction.

if you are willing to rent a car, I would choose Montepulciano over Orvieto, as the town is stunning and there are so many beauty spots and pretty towns in every direction. Lousy train links, however.

I would find Padua as boring after a day. I like Orvieto as a base with a car, but I would add Lucca to the mix.

Lucca gives you a wide range of great day trips by both rail and by car in all directions. And, is a charming place to stay with multiple eating options.

I loved Padua and spent several days there. Did not find it boring at all. You can also go by train to Ravenna to visit the fabulous mosaics there. The villas of Andrea Palladio are in that area. The home of Canova was a fun place to check out. Also if you rent a car there are other options to visit beyond the ones mentioned above such as Asolo and Bassana de Grappo. The scenery going North from Padua is lovely. I agree that the NItaly is more developed or perhaps industrialized than the area around Oriveto

Oriveto is also nice and you won't go wrong with either choice.

Padua, backs onto the Euganinian hills, surrounding these hills are a series of wonderful small cities/towns (plus some of the ones mentioned above) and in all directions you will find more with at least 5 walled cities within 40km (Ferarra and Bologna etc are even further but easily reached by car at these distances there are so many cities worth visiting it is hard write). Take care with finding a place to stay as the very core does not allow cars, but bicycles are east to rent. Yes the land is flat and this allows for a pleasant bicycle based culture.

It is possible to borrow or buy guide books and I recommend the Rough Guide for Italy, at 1000 pages plus it is one of the best guides available, especially for the North of Italy

Lucca is good to visit and the cities down to Siena and beyond, but lets face it "everyone" has been to Tuscany. ;-)

I agree with both tedgale and bilboburger. Padua is indeed set in the middle of an industrial, soggy plain. The countryside thereabouts is unattractive.

It is also not far from the Euganinian hills, and there are indeed pleasant and/or interesting walled and other towns to the south as well as Vicenza, Verona to the east, Venice to the west, and a bunch of places like Bassano to the north.

But this is no Tuscany, and you should not be expecting scenic beauty in this area outside the towns.

I personally don't like Orvieto as a base for daytrips, especially by car. It's (stunningly) located on a mesa-like volcanic projection. So to make excursions you have to get down to the plain, either by driving down a winding road or by taking the funicular down to the train station or the parking lots nearby. For somebody who has a hard time getting started in the morning (guilty), getting away from Orvieto just adds to the lead time.

Which alternative you pick, either Padua or some of the others suggested depend on which sights you're interested in. I highly recommend Ravenna and its mosaics for somebody with your interests. If you drive there, as opposed to taking the train, it's easier to get out to Classe, a suburb of Ravenna with the mosaics of Basilica of St. Apollinaire.

For the Val d'Orcia I prefer Pienza or San Quirico d'Orcia as base towns for daytripping by car. Easy to get in and out of.

But again you need to decide what you want to see from this base.

One time I was on a limited budget and couldn't find lodgings in Venice to suit me, so we took a room in Padua near the station, much cheaper than anything in Venice at that time, and we loved it. Not only is it a short hop to go to Venice for the day, and cheap if you take the regional train, but we grew to like Padua also, it sure has its charms.

While in that region, consider making an early start one morning to go to Ravenna for the day, or better for an overnight stay, to see the mosaics - see www.ravennamosaici.it - you won't regret it. The 07:12 train gets you there by 09:25.

Another target you should consider while based in Padua: Chioggia, a charming mini-Venice - the 07:12 train gets you there by 09:04. Chioggia is linked to the "real" Venice by boat-bus - that would be a fun trip, then coming back in the evening from Venice by train to Padua.

Terni provincia (which Orvieto's in) is a great base for travels in Italy: I'd be dubious about being based in the centro storico of Orvieto, because it's a pain for trains and parking, and downright hostile to Orvieto Scalo, the rather grubby area around the station at the base of the hill the ancient city's built on, for many of the reasons others here are iffy about Padua.

I've had great holidays renting villas in the countryside within 10 mins (say 10 km radius) of Orvieto Scalo. Very handy for the motorway intersection just down the road from the station, for the food stores (which Orvieto's centro storico isn't that good for), and handy for trains (the only way of doing daytrips to Rome or Naples, and really the best way to get to Florence) .

You can still use the cehtro storico for romantic dinners.

How about 1 week rentals in both locations instead of 2 weeks in one location?

I like joannyc's plan.

We were in both Orvieto and Padua this year. Both are interesting - but we love the Val d'Orcia, and stayed here for 2 weeks.
http://www.house-in-tuscany.com/the-house/4578322047

Stu Dudley