I posted this earlier without "Italy" in the headline:

We are spending the month of May in Italy, arriving in Rome and departing from Milan. We have been to Italy several times. On this trip we plan to stay in the following cities for the number of nights indicated. Are the cities arranged in the best sequence for travel by train and bus?

Rome 6
Perugia 3
Bologna 5
Florence 2
Cinque Terre 3
Venice 3
Bolzano 3
Lake Como 3
Milan 3

Can you fly home from Venice--could be a big difference. The obvious one to me is from Perugia you want to go to Florence first and put Bologna later.

Our flights are booked.

In my opinion the flow should be the following:

Rome
Perugia
Florence
Bologna
Cinque Terre
Venice
Bolzano
Lake Como

but if you like the idea to use airplane from Bolzano to Milano Malpensa, then, the flow could become:

Rome
Perugia
Florence
Bologna
Cinque Terre
Lake Como
Venice
Bolzano

Have a lovely trip, ciao.

Vincenzo

Well, let's see. In your sequence Cinque Terre to Venice is a long, cross country trip. I'd go Rome to Perugia to Venice to Bolzano to Bologna to Florence to the CT to Lake Como to Milan. Perugia to Venice means going through Florence. Where did you plan to use the bus?

I assume you have your reasons for spending 5 days in Bologna, 3 days in Perugia, and only 2 in Florence. On such a long trip, I would find time to visit the Italian countryside, specifically Tuscany or Umbria; without a car you could use the bus for out-of-city trips.