Italy in early April - 2 nights in Cinque Terre or Emilia Romagna or southern Tuscany?

Train from Florence to Modena takes about an hour and a quarter, with a change in Bologna. No need to rent a car. Modena to Venice by train takes a bit more than 2 hours. Two of our favorite places to eat in Italy are in Modena and the smaller town will give you more of a rest than Bologna. That's where I'd send foodies and car-lovers with only two nights.

Modena has our favorite restaurant in Italy, Da Danilo.

Here's a different suggestion. Why not stop in Orvieto on your way to Florence. It is about an hour and a half train ride from Rome. It has great restaurants, an amazing Gothic cathedral with magnificent art work inside and more. Orvieto also has attractions that might appeal to your "tween". There are underground Etruscan caves and a fun funicular ride from the train station up to the top of this hill town, and other things. The views from the town of the Umbrian countryside are lovely. Cinque Terre is beautiful but it could be rainy and there is very little to do inside. Whatever you decide it will be wonderful. Italy has so many, maybe too many, places that are worthwhile to visit.

I also would make your home base in Modena instead of Bologna. You can still daytrip by train to Bologna or Parma if you wish. The Ferrari Museum shuttle bus works well. Consider taking the first one that departs Modena train station at 9:40, if you want to visit the Maranello location in the morning.

Orvieto is indeed another good idea. We took our almost nine-year-old son there and he loved the deep well, the Pozzo di San Patrizio, which we thought he would, but he also loved the Orvieto cathedral, despite having no interest in religion or churches, and especially loved Signorelli's chapel inside the cathedral despite a frequently stated dislike of "art." Now 20 years older, he still remembers it.

These are all wonderful ideas! Orvieto does sound like a great option for a brief break. If we were to drive in, what is the scene with traffic rules and parking? Does one just park outside the town and just walk in or is it a big town?
As enticing as Modena is, we might leave that for another trip when we do Milan and the lakes of northern Italy.
Appreciate all your responses. Thanks!

No need to drive at all. Train from Rome to Orvieto, train from Orvieto to Florence, train from Florence to Venice. For such a short trip to the three major tourist destinations plus the one smaller one, a car would just be a pain and a time-waster. I don't know about Florence to Venice, which probably requires one change of trains (Bologna?), but for the other trips there are direct trains with no changing.

We rent cars in Italy all the time for longer and more complicated trips to more obscure places, and my husband thinks it's fun to drive in cities like Palermo and Naples, so I'm not speaking as someone who is driving-in-Italy-phobic. You just don't need to do it for your particular trip. Trains in Italy are wonderful and fast and cheap and go to small towns. Also fun.

From the Orvieto train station, you could just take a taxi to your accommodation. But there is a funicular plus a walk or bus from the station below the old part of town to the top of the hill.

I don't think you want to drive. Having seen fast drivers on Italian roads - "what lines for lanes" and many damaged cars it would be risky.

You should look at the weather if you are thinking about a train to Cinque Terre as the weather gets quite cool there and it really isn't spring time when you are traveling - many of the shops maybe closed.

I would take your option C if you aren't open to visiting in and around Venice.

The airport in Venice is hard to get to unless you are on the mainland - approximately E100 private water taxi from airport takes about 1/2 hr to St. Mark's Square. You could take the train to Padua - 14 mins fast train or 25 mins local train. Padua is a university town, lovely old buildings, Scrovegni Chapel with frescos by Giotto. Alternatively, you could stay local in Venice and take the ferry to Murano (think blown glass) or Burano (lace island) and spend time wandering and having lunch especially on Burano while viewing the colorful homes and canals. Happy travels

In Orvieto I stayed at the Hotel Duomo in the historic center of Orvieto. They have valet parking available at a very reasonable cost and they are in the ZTL. They reported my car to the authorities and I received to violation. The rooms in the hotel are good sized, excellent breakfast, friendly and helpful staff and very convenient to walk anywhere in the city. If you want pizza, go to Charlie. For a more formal dinner, make reservations at Trattoria da Carlo on Vicolo Del Popolo. You won’t be disappointed in either restaurant.

Thanks again for your replies. Appreciate all these suggestions. I had a couple more questions.
1. The original plan was to fly out of Venice but we are looking at shuffling our cities a bit since Bologna and Verona seem a bit cheaper and perhaps better (in terms of connections and points availability to book flights) options to fly out of. How easy (or difficult) would it to get to BLQ or VRN (either rental car return or public transport)? Also, how do these airports compare with flying out of VCE?

1. Since we are shuffling our trip around, how are towns like Modena or Orvieto on Good Friday and Easter weekend? I understand there will be a lot of tourists in the larger cities but would any restaurants or attractions be open on Good Friday or Holy Saturday (day before Easter) in either of these towns?