65th birthday gift

Romance? Verona! Romeo and Juliet are not in evidence, but it's a lovely little city. Perhaps some Palladian villas in the same area if you'll be driving in the Veneto region.
Venice is crowded but wonderful and must be seen. Cinque Terre is just too crowded to be enjoyed by experienced travelers.
The Piedmont area of Italy (Turin) and the Val d'Aosta have lots of French influence so he'll be sure to enjoy.

In Italy, some travelers don't think it gets much more romantic than Venice (as far as destinations are concerned).
I guess it also depends on what you do when you're there! ;-)
Each traveler will have her/his own choice.

I think you should get Rick Steve's videos on Italy and see what looks good to the two of you. You don't mention what time of year this wonderful birthday is in, and weather will be a factor, as will your interests and mobility. Cinque Terre can be rugged if there are mobility issues.

Venice is probably the most romantic place on earth, but I would spend 4 nights three days there. That leaves you lots of time for the other areas. Lake Como and the north are pretty much closed down in the winter months, but April - Oct are lovely.

Personally, I find Florence very romantic. The piazzas at night are absolutely beautiful, it's a flat city, perfect for strolling, and having a glass of wine after dark with the lights on the fountains are so very soothing. Florence is also a transportation hub, and day trips to a number of places are very easy to arrange - Siena, Pisa......and so on.

You didn't say when you plan to be in Italy so as a general response I second 4 nights in Venice. Florence is also a great place to spend 4 or more nights. We also enjoyed Siena, Assisi, and Orvieto, among others. Do you plan to visit Rome? If so you could fly into Venice and out of Rome. We like to make a list of towns we're interested in visiting and put them into google maps. Then we can arrange them in a good sequence so there's no backtracking. If you don't have RS Italy book, it might help you narrow down your choices and to research possible day trips from each location. We also like to google the towns and day trip options and look at the pictures to help decide if it's some place we actually want to visit. Have fun planning!

Just as I expected..a wealth of information. Thanks so much! I remember when I was 19 and purchased a one way ticket from San Francisco to Heathrow. I just went where ever I felt like going for 6 months. It was a life changing experience. It certaining is an incredible world we live in.
Pat

It's hard to beat the incredible magic of Venice. I also love Sienna (I think my favorite place so far out of everywhere I've been in England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, etc.) I had an incredible time on my honeymoon at an agriturismo in Tuscany called http://www.tastytuscany.com/. I think things have changed a lot there in the 8 years since we've been there - but we loved touring the small hill towns by day, and learning to cook by night.

Many lovely places as mentioned. I like Montalcino (south of Siena), Siena itself, Ravenna, anyplace you can stay a couple of nights to avoid the day trippers (Capri is a great example). Cortona is also beautiful.