First time to Italy in mid Nov - would you skip Emilia Romagna

There's a reason Venice-Florence-Rome is the traditional first trip itinerary. Fly into Venice and out of Rome, and add the nights you would have spent in Bologna to Rome. If you later decide that's too many days in Rome, you can always do a day trip to Orvieto or Ostia Antica from your Rome base. You will not need a car.

Agree with @ponygirl813 about how to divide what is realistically a 10-day trip. Three hotels & even partially 3 travel days is plenty for such a short trip! You could always add a walking food tour day-trip from Florence to Bologna, since you're into cooking & wine. There will be far fewer tourists in November, though look at the weather report before you fly to Venice, it can be darn chilly on those canals!

We went to Italy in November of 2021 (postponed from May 2020), and we thought it was a wonderful time to be there. Of course, there are no guarantees, but the weather was mostly sunny and pleasant for us. We had one evening with a thunderstorm and downpours in Rome, we had a drizzly day in Pompeii (which meant we had it practically all to ourselves!), we had a bit of drizzle the day we visited Sienna, and we had just one blustery day in Venice (out of 3 1/2). This is out of nearly 3 weeks, mind you. The day we visited the Colosseum and Palatine Hill was so warm, it felt like (our) summer. Same with the day we went to Sacro Bosco, Civita di Banoregio, and Orvieto. We had a lovely, lovely days in Verona and Florence, as well as the day we visited Murano and Burano.

But, best of all, the crowds weren't unbearable (although Florence was busier than other places).

As for your question, although I like to pack a lot into a trip, I think that 3 nights in each place would be doable but not ideal, IMO. I agree with those who say add more nights to Rome and consider seeing Bologna as a day trip, instead.

Hi Marlene, I would stick with your original plan of three nights in each location. Here’s some possible day trips or activities for each:

Venice - Burano, or Murano if you want to see more glass
Bologna - Ravenna to see the gorgeous mosaics. Do a food tour of the Emilia-Romagna specialties another day.
Florence - Siena or Lucca
Rome - stay in Rome because there’s so much to see.

Since you like cooking, I’ll share my last trip report where my daughter & I had a wonderful cooking class in Florence.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/mother-adult-daughter-italy-trip-aug-sept-2022

I would agree with the others that you might eliminate the 3 days in Bologna, doing a day trip from Florence instead. But instead of just dumping them on Rome, I would suggest a more nuanced approach. Do a bit more research to determine what you want to see in each place and how much time that will take. Include any day trips that you might want. Maybe Verona, Murano, or Burano from Venice? Siena, Bologna, Pisa, or Lucca from Florence? That may help clarify the distribution of days.

Adding in my two cents here in favor of KEEPING Bologna, and perhaps steal a day from Venice for Verona. Have returned to both Verona and Bologna with no regrets, and can't wait to return. Verona is perhaps one of the cleanest, most romantic cities in Italy, very pedestrian friendly, and with an upscale feel. Bologna, by contrast, is a bit grittier, but better for it. The food in Bologna rivals that in Florence, is less crowded, and very authentic/charming/interesting.

But, really, at this point, you're swapping terrific for fantastic - no matter what, you'll have a great time!

Welcome to the RS forum gang, Marlene. :O)

I'll vote for with Cjean's plan to axe Bologna and....

....Do a bit more research to determine what you want to see in each
place and how much time that will take. Include any day trips that you
might want. Maybe Verona, Murano, or Burano from Venice? Siena,
Bologna, Pisa, or Lucca from Florence? That may help clarify the
distribution of days.

Cutting a 4th hotel location will eliminate some packing up/checking out/locating new hotel/checking in/etc. Longer stays in single locations can also add some flexibility to work around weather and whim. Raining? Stay put and explore indoor treasures. Sunny and nice? Maybe take a day trip or explore local outdoor stuff, such as taking a long and very interesting walk on the Appia Antica in Rome or visiting the Baths of Caracalla.

Florence is a great base for some easy day trips, as have been mentioned above! Just buy a (inexpensive!) ticket and hop on a train (Lucca, Pisa, Bologna) or bus (Siena).

Agree with Steve about Verona. Verona was my favourite city that I visited in Italy and the only one where I would want to live.

Lots of good hiking/walking in Emilia Romagna. Bologna is one of my favorite cities. Also... the best balsamico, parmigiano, prosciutto, tortellini.... Bologna is just 30 minutes by high speed train from Florence. You don't need a car for any of the cities that you mentioned. Arezzo is a nice day trip from Florence. Ravenna is convenient to Bologna and the mosaics are the best you will see in Italy. Bologna has become a lot more popular in the past several years but its still possible to hear more Italian than English which isn't the case in the other cities. Some fun tours of Bologna. https://www.vitruvio.emr.it/en/.

Sorry for my delay. I wanted to thank you all for the advice and suggestions! Very helpful. We’ve decided to only have 3 places to stay considering how easy day trips will be. Happy traveling!