Give me an adventure for Italy!

There is not much you cannot find in a guide book, but I think the better strategy is for you to tell us about you. What do you want to do? Any particular interests? You mention hiking, but do you mean any long scenic walk or do you want mountains or ? Speak any Italian? Like wine? Have any intolerance for heat? Anything you can tell us that will spark an idea like "XX would be perfect for Beth."
I can say one thing for certain, for god's sake do not drive on the Amalfi Coast in summer!

Hiking in Cinque Terre can be memorable--if you go at the right time of year, the weather cooperates, you do enough research to select the best trails, and everyone in the hiking group is reasonably fit.

Lake Como can be fun, but choose with care the place you sleep, for example, stay down the lake, not at the city of Lake Como itself.

Some people have found driving a rental car on the Amalfi coast (I mean the southern coast of that peninsula) to be a bit challenging, and the lack of viewpoints has been frustrating to some. Others like it. Some get someone else to do the driving, like a tour or bus driver--so they can actually have time to focus on the vistas instead of only the 100 feet of road in front of their rental car.

The guidebooks, especially those focusing on adventure travel, do a pretty good job identifying adventures.

Summer means potential heat in much of Italy. My escape was uphill in the Dolomites. It's a lovely area. Lots of walking possibilities from casual strolls to more challenging hikes. Ortisei is a popular place to stay. Beyond that, I'd try to focus on your own interests, because you are highly likely to have some unpleasantly hot days, and it helps a lot if you spend them doing things you like. Not all museums, shops and restaurants will be air conditioned, so this is potentially a real issue.

Two of the four segments of the lower-level Cinque Terre path have been closed for an extended period (perhaps two years?) due to storm damage. I don't think there's any information about when they might reopen. There are other trails in the C.T., but they are higher and require a lot of step-climbing, I believe. There are folks on this board who can suggest alternatives in that same area of Italy--trails that give you great views and won't be so packed with other hikers.

The hike from Monterosso to Vernazza has an iconic view. It takes about an hour physically fit or you will get winded in parts that require hiking up. But it felt like an accomplishment. The later you are allowed to start the hike the better as all the daytrippers are gone around 18:00.

I agree, tell us what you - and they - like and we're bursting at the seams to tell you some fun adventures. I'm assuming 20-somethings like music, so the Spoleto Two Worlds Festival in Umbria could be wonderful for them. Avigliana/Val di Susa in Piedmont; car museums in Piedmont or Emilia Romagna; medieval festivals (Bevagna, also in Umbria, is a great one); and so on. If you haven't been to Turin, I recommend it highly. Give us a direction and we'll fill up your adventure bucket!

Thanks everyone! Here's a little more about us. We are reasonably fit and enjoy hiking. I don't want to do Mt. Everest, but a several hour hike with ups and down would be fine for all of us. We do love music, so the festival sounds intriguing. We pretty much have to go in summer because the children are both eating up my retirement in college and grad school currently.

I do speak some Italian and I do love wine. We enjoy meeting locals and eating interesting food. It wouldn't hurt them to see some art, and my son is especially interested in archaeology. That's what his grad work is focused on.

Hope that helps a bit. I find that folks on this board provide great nuggets of info that I might not know otherwise.

Grazie!

Google Italy & festivals and events for the specific month you will be there. Verona has their opera season in the Roman Arena and Stresa on beautiful Lake Maggiore (with good hiking & funicular nearby) has their Stresa Music Festival that might be when you’re traveling. I went to Arezzo this year because I’ve always wanted to see it, and I was able to attend their jousting festival - lots of fun. It’s a college town, so I think your kids would enjoy the ambiance, too.

The Dolomite area is stunning. I haven’t been to an Italian town, yet, that I didn’t enjoy.

Archeology? Pompeii, Herculaneum, all of Rome, Ostia Antica, Paestum, the Naples Archeological Museum, the Etruscan ruins/caves in Orvieto.

The Amalfi Coast is not for driving, not no-how, not never.

Are you interested in exposing your children to Rome, Venice, or Florence at all? I think they might enjoy those cities.

I have not been, but for an off-the-beaten-path adventure, you may want to consider the island of Sardinia? Similarly to Sicily, Sardinia as played host to a number of cultures and civilisations through the ages. I would suspect that it's pretty off the overseas-tourist radar, as compared to places on the Italian mainland.

I see that in the main city of Cagliari, there is a museum called "Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari" that displays bronze-age, Nuragic, Roman, and Byzantine artifacts, maybe it's something your son may be interested in?

It seems pretty safe weather wise too, as the average temps for June, July, and August, are 71, 76, and 77 respectively. (According to the Italian Meteorological Service)

Just thinking out loud... :)

Carlos, those are the mean temperatures for the day, not the average high temperatures. Cagliari's average highs for June, July and August are 81F, 87F and 87F according to Wikipedia, with those figures based on the 30-year period 1971-2000. Any bets as to how the weather may have changed since then?

@Acraven - Good catch, looks like the Italian Meteorological Service needs to update their website! ;)

http://clima.meteoam.it/AtlanteClimatico/pdf/(560)Cagliari.pdf

I just noticed that the figures I was referencing are only for the city of Cagliari, which sits right on the coast at sea level. I would suspect that the climate changes dramatically once you get into the mountainous interior of the island.

You have to experience the Umbria Jazz Festival outdoors. They had Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga out there a couple years ago
http://www.umbriajazz.com/

It is not all jazz but great atmosphere in Perugia in summer since 1973. They also have a Winter Version

I loved Verona- it has such history- the Arena is older than the Colosseum in Rome!! Fun for the whole family is Juliets house and balcony- and photo ops for touching Juliets statue are a tradition. You can even mail a letter to Juliet- in her mailbox- and if you include your address “she” will write you back!! (Google Letters to Juliet)... best meal of my life at
http://www.osteriailbertoldo.com/
Lots of shops- Verona in my book is a must see!!
Happy Travels💫✨

Climb a volcano!! Mt. Vesuvius and Mt. Etna- a neat experience!!

We did Milan (art, architecture), Lake Como, Verona (ancient Roman architecture), Bolzano (see Otzi, food with Germanic influence) and the Dolomites (rent a car and drive those gorgeous mountain roads, great easy hikes). This would seem to fit the bill for your interests.

Rent a little boat! We did so in both Cinque Terre (Vernazza) and this year on Lake Como (Varenna). Highlights of our vacation. We also planned to do this in Positano, but the water was too choppy for our comfort. Have fun!