Where to stop between Montalcino and Bologna?
 

We'll be driving from Montalcino to Bologna and thought it would be nice to stop somewhere in between for lunch and a little exploring.

We had thought of driving to Florence, ditching the rental car there (instead of Bologna) and taking the train to Bologna, but I don't know what we'd do with our luggage.

Anyone have suggestions?

topping

We did something similar, stayed in southern Tuscany, then drove to Florence and ditched the car there and stayed 2 nights. We then took the train to Bologna, which was very easy. There is a luggage storage area on each car on the train, so luggage shouldn't be a problem.
We dropped the car off in downtown Florence, which was a little tricky to drive to due to the many one way streets, but we did it on a Sunday morning when traffic was light.
If you've never been to Florence, you might want to try and spend at least one night there.

How much time are you spending in Bologna?

Seems like driving into Florence just for lunch, and especially considering you'll have your luggage with you, would be too much of a pain.

If you don't already have it in your plans, maybe take a detour on your way from Montalcino and visit Ravenna, then go from there on to Bologna. Definitely not ON the way between Montalcino and Bologna, but very well worth visiting.

I don't think I understand the problem -- why not keep the luggage in the trunk of the car? If you want to ditch it and take the train, do so after you see Florence, instead of before.

We have been to Florence before, but it's been a few years so I wouldn't mind spending an afternoon there.

We could keep the car with our luggage in it until we're ready to leave, but I guess then we'd have to find a place to park the car until we're ready to leave via train.

We could also just drive straight to Bologna!