Lucca to Rome

Siena fits your interests.

Some of the obvious suggestions are the hilltowns like Siena, Arezzo, Cortona or Orvieto all between Florence and Rome and easily reachable by train. But if you're finishing the Tuscany tour then you may be looking for something other than hill towns.

I'm going to suggest something slightly different with Bologna and Verona as potential places. They aren't strictly between Florence and Rome but they are on the high speed rail connections to it means just a little extra time on the train into Rome.
- Bologna is the food capital of Italy and has uniquely styled brick architecture so it stands out as different than other Italian cities and Modena is very close for a side trip. (40 min from Florence by train)
- Verona is a little further north but is a very beautiful, walkable city with fewer tourist attractions - Roman ruins and ignore Juliet stuff - but many different neighborhoods. (1.5 hours from Florence by train)

In November things will be a little slower everywhere but probably less so in larger cities rather than smaller towns where the population is more affected by the influx of tourists.

Your trip sounds great, have fun,
=Tod

thanks so much. We have been to Bologna, just for lunch and promised we would return. Thanks for the extra push to go there again. I'll look at train schedules to see if its feasible. Again, thank you.

We're recently back from our trip, which included 5 nights in Bologna. We loved it.

This may be common knowledge but it was a beautiful surprise for us. The sepulcher in Basilica of San Domenico has several statuettes, three of which were sculpted by a young Michelangelo. Here's a nice article on the Basilica: https://italianreflections.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/st-dominic-and-the-young-michelangelo/

thanks so much. Any suggestions for hotels and restaurants in Bologna. I have loads of RS books, but none mention Bologna.

We used AirBnB and were pleased with our choices. They were both popular picks and I doubt they are available for the dates you need, but I did a quick check for your approximate time frame and found what I thought were decent choices.

As for restaurants, if you can get in to Trattoria di Via Serra you won't be disappointed. I think getting in for a dinner would be tough. We showed up about 45 minutes before they opened for lunch and lucked a table. While we were there the phone rang almost constantly and it seemed most people were turned away. Another spot we liked was Panini Di Miro. They had amazing sandwiches. For your morning fix, I'd recommend either Caffe Terzi (more traditional) or Naama Cafe. Do a search on this site and you will find plenty of other dining suggestions.

I appreciate the feedback, thank you

List of food/restaurants I compiled for a day trip that didn't happen.

Venchi - real hot chocolate - Via degli Orefici, 23 10:00-20:30
Mercato di Mezzo - variety indoor eatery - Via Clavature, 12
Mercato Delle Erbe - more local eatery - Via Ugo Bassi, 25
Osteria dell’Orsa - traditional eatery - Via Mentana, 1
Sfoglia Rina -handmade pasta - Via Castiglione, 5/b
Osteria Le Sette Chiese - charming local place - Via Borgonuovo, 6

At least some of them come from this local's One Day in Bologna blogpost I liked.
https://www.everysteph.com/one-day-in-bologna-itinerary-by-a-local/

Have a yummy time!
=Tod