A city like Sevilla, Spain in Italy?

Bologna might fit the bill. Not the huge crowds of Florence. Not the intense traffic of Rome. Thanks to the student population very lively at night. Good food. Enough to keep you busy for one or two days. And a good base for a couple of day trips to cities like Ravenna, Ferrara and Modena (all easily reached by frequent trains).

Verona is also an often overlooked gem. The old city is located in a bend in the Adige river and is easily walkable. Both its Roman arena and amphitheater are still used today. There are plenty of sights to keep you entertained for a few days and nearby Lake Garda can been visited as a day trip.

DJ

Look at Preugia in Umbria. Lots of art and history. A lively town with a university , plenty to do and see day and night. Easy day trips to Assisi and Gubbio. I almost forgot... chocolate.

Brad means "Perugia". Don't know about it, but I think the suggestions of Bologna and Verona are both good.

Jeanette, I also thought first of Verona. It is an ancient city with a very modern lifestyle. Very walkable. A variety of sites and piazzas around town. And quite nearby, Lago di Garda, vineyards, and other towns like Vicenza, and of course, Venice.

Padua is another university city about the same size as Verona (maybe a tiny bit smaller). Plenty to see and do for a few days and only 1/2 hr from Venice so easy to make day trips there. Also easy to get to Ferrara, Verona, Modena, and Bologna.

Personally I would choose Florence, it's smaller than Sevilla, compact and easily walkable and the amount of sights to see and restaurants and bars for evening is worthy of a week. Easy to visit other cities in Tuscany from there - Siena, Lucca, Volterra, Cortona, etc. Then move to Verona or Padua or bologna for another week with day trips to Venice and the other mentioned cities.

Florence is the closest thing to what you are looking for especially considering you want to be in Tuscany anyhow (Florence is the capital of Tuscany). The other cities mentioned above would be also pretty but smaller than Sevilla (Sevilla metro area is similar in population to Florence metro area, i.e. approx. 1.5 million people, and both are equally popular tourist destinations).

Since this is you first time in Italy I would also recommend at least 2 or 3 nights in Venice. Verona, which is just over one hour from Venice, is also a gem and it won't take you longer than a day to visit. See if you can include it in your itinerary. If you want to attend Opera at the Arena of Verona (a must in my opinion), you will need to spend at least that night in Verona since the opera shows end well past midnight.

August is unbearably hot. While in Verona, you may want to spend some time in nearby lake Garda, for some heat relief on a body of water. Alternatively some time on the majestic Dolomites mountains would be great too (a rental car in that case would be recommended, although not mandatory).

While in Tuscany, you might also want to spend some time on the coast, for the same reason.

Florence has sights enough to fill a week, but they are mostly Renaissance art (both painting and lots of sculpture) and architecture, so there's not nearly the variety that Sevilla offers. It's compact, easy to get around on foot. I don't know much about the nightlife.

I like Tom's suggestion of Bologna best. It's not a top tourist destination, because it doesn't have "top" sights. There are some, but nothing major. For that reason, it may not be as crowded as Florence. And lodging won't be as expensive, which would at least somewhat offset the cost of taking the train. Bologna is also easy to walk and the many colonnaded streets provide a lot of welcome shade. Stay midway between the center and the train station, you'll be able to walk to either in about 10 minutes. There are so many places you can visit by train as day trips - Florence, of course, also Modena, Ravenna, Parma, Ferrara . . .

August is the middle of opera season in Verona, so pretty crowded and much as I love the town, I wouldn't imagine it to be as nice when it's crowded. . . . unless you want to see an opera or two - then it's a great idea.

To say that Florence has only Renaissance art is historically and factually incorrect.

The art of Florence spans from the Roman and Byzantine period, passing through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to arrive to the Baroque period of Florence capital in the 19th century.
http://www.yourwaytoflorence.com/db/storia/chp1.htm

Seville is my favorite city in Spain and arguably the most beautiful. To compare it to Bologna, which has a few notable places to see, but it is not a top destination and in fact is not featured in most tours of Italy (including Rick Steves') is an insult to the Andalusian capital. The night life scene is not even comparable between Florence and Bologna (especially in August when most Bolognesi are at the beach).

August is very hot everywhere in Italy, except for the high mountains or the breezy coast. However August is also the LEAST crowded month in Florence during the peak season, as many tourists (and Florentines themselves) prefer cooler holiday destinations to the art cities, which are extremely hot in August.

It is true that Bologna might have slightly cheaper accommodations than Florence, but the round trip ticket on the high speed train is 50 euro pp (that is 100 euro, or $115 for you and your husband). There is no way that similar accommodations in Florence would cost $115 more per night than in Bologna, no matter how luxurious your hotel is. Staying in Bologna to save hotel costs in Florence would be foolish, because the hotel savings would be way more than offset by the train fare costs. Also you can use Florence as a base to visit the Tuscan towns.

Sorry Roberto. I did say "mostly" Renaissance and it's still pretty much all art and architecture. I didn't know that it would be so hot in August - so maybe not so attractive to the visitor and not the best place to spend a few days, even though not crowded (and after a few days in Tuscan villages).

I was not trying to equate Sevilla with Bologna and I don't think Tom was either. I tried to say that Sevilla's attributes and variety are hard (impossible?) to find in Italy. Bologna might serve the OP's purpose - lots to do in the evening with a variety of sightseeing available with day trips. I only suggested Florence as a possible day trip since there is so much to see there for an art lover and because the OP wants a single base.

Yes, the train fare between Florence and Bologna is expensive. Probably better to visit Florence as a day trip from one of the Tuscan towns.

To each his own, Chani. But if it were my first trip to Italy, between Bologna and Florence, I'd choose to stay in Florence, and maybe, if time permits, I'd visit Bologna from Florence on a day trip, not the other way around.

As far as temperatures in August are concerned, both Florence and Bologna will likely be miserably and unbearably hot. That you cannot escape unless you go to high (very high) altitudes or go along the coast where there is some breeze in the evenings.