Input appreciated for four extra days in Italy

Lake Como? Just enjoy low key 'being there'?

I'm working on tentative plans for that area myself; I just uncovered Glass Week a couple of days ago. In addition to Trieste, I'd consider Treviso and Udine. I haven't been to any of those places--or Bassano del Grappa--so I can't comment on timing. They're on my potential itinerary, though.

Have you been to Ljubljana? The amount of time you have available would be good for that city. If you used a shuttle service like GoOpti you might be able to squeeze in Lake Bled, too.

Good luck with your trip. I want to start in the Baltics by the end of July, but I haven't dared to buy an airline ticket yet.

Piacenza is much easier and closer to Parma, so a night more in Parma could be an option, to visit Piacenza too.
How do you travel? Public transport only? Because if you have a car you can explore even the towns and villages of Emilia-Romagna. Vigoleno, Castell'Arquato, Rivalta, (Grazzano Visconti), Bobbio, Castell'Arquato, Fontanellato, Canossa, Bardi, Masone's labyrinth, Vignola, Carpi, Dozza, San Leo, Comacchio... I can continue! Is plenty of places where to spend at least an half day.

Padova or Treviso could be worth an overnight stay.
And I know you are already going to Lake Maggiore, but Lake Como is very different is equally worth it (if not more?). It would be great for a 3 night stay, in Varenna for example.

Mantova? Trento?

How about Bolzano and the Alpi do Suzi?

Does the Brenta canal trip from Padova to Venice hold any appeal....rather than train. It stops at 2 Palladian villas but does take all day. One also has to be traveling on the correct day as it alternated direction on alternate days.....assuming it is running at all, of course.

We first went to Bassano del Grappa as a day trip from Venice by train the first time we visited there. We loved it and have returned. It has an Alpine feel to it, a lot of history too. The Alpini military unit has an interring history.
It is good to see you mention it as I have been surprised that it isn’t on many travels’ radar.

Bassano del Grappa is worth a day trip only. Not much there there versus your other destinations.

I would add nights to you other stops instead of another stop in a very fast paced trip. 4 nights in Venice would not be too long. Add the other 3 to Stresa, Milano, and Parma.

Acraven, I found the Venice Glass Week a few weeks ago and am really looking forward to the event! It’s why I slid my start time in Venice by four days to the weekend to stay long enough to be there.

I appreciate your replies, thank you! I will look over them in more detail this weekend.

The timing of my extra days may be confusing - it’s after the festival in Ferrara ends and before the Venice Glass Week begins, so I’m not able to add a day to earlier locations without missing the Ferrara festival.

Thank you for those details, Ricky! I will be traveling by train but could check if there’s some day tour options to see more.

The Brenta Canal trip would be great! I enjoyed the Palladio architecture when we stayed in Vicenza.

I would love to see Slovenia! I’m traveling solo on this trip, and I know my husband would want to come to explore that together.

Another option I just checked is to return to Verona. I see there’s still opera tickets available for the last days of their season.

Hi Jean,
Verona sounds like it might be a terrific stop. The other place that looks interesting are the towns on Lake Garda. Your trip looks amazing!

I haven't been there in twenty years, but I will mention Reggio Emilia. It's quite urban, and doesn't have the architecture and history of the great places you've already listed. But it's a prosperous, comfortable city with a few things to do. The city museum has some small works by important Emiligian painters, and there's a full-sized (operating, in season) modern replica of a large baroque theater. The weekly markets were terrific, with vast numbers of Parmigiano producers, as well as other foods. I didn't have a big budget on my multiple trips there, so it sounds like faint praise when I say that I had (in multiple restaurants) the best pizza I've ever had in my life. The evening passeggiata has a calm and warm feeling. You won't hear English spoken there, although we did meet a German tourist.

Hi.
A short video about some villages on the hillside of the Piacenza's province: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQHIlhzP2ks . Spoken in Italian, but to give an idea about what you miss visiting only the main cities ;-)

Wow, thanks for those details, AshleyMIA! I usually book hotels several months ahead of a trip; this planning is so different from my normal! When I attended the Aida opera in Verona in 2018, I noticed that the hotel prices were higher due to the opera season. Not knowing how many people would be walking around in the neighborhoods afterwards, I just booked Hotel Bologna which is so close to the arena that at the intermission, I used the toilet in my hotel room instead of standing in line at the arena.

It looks like there’s still some rooms in good locations, with the expected price hike. But, thanks for the notice to move on it!

I have my final itinerary and want to thank everyone who gave me input! I really appreciate your responses! Ricky, I am planning to keep your list for some possible day trips or definitely for a future trip! AshleyMIA, I was able to reserve the close hotel again for a night at the opera - Turandot, this time.

Fly into Milan
Bergamo
Stresa - Stresa Music Festival
Milan
Parma - Seeing my favorite cathedral again!
Modena
Ferrara - Buskers Festival (street performers). Including a day trip to see Ravenna again.
Florence
Verona - Turandot opera at the Roman Arena
Venice - Venice Glass Week and Venice Regatta.
Fly home from Venice

The Bergamo & Ferrara hotels both gave me a total refund of a non refundable hotel last year, so I am gladly giving them my money this year and a translated thank you note of gratitude when I arrive.