Need input on 2-week Italy itinerary

Day 4. Puglia? But then you list day trips to places in Umbria? Assisi, Spello and perhaps Spoleto??
Did you mean Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, Lecce, Ostuni???

Sorry. I meant Perugia. Not Puglia.

Or maybe the base is the city of Perugia?

If your interest in architecture extends to Art Nouveau, I recommend some time wandering around the Quartiere Coppede. It's not terribly far from the Borghese. Alternatively, the closest Metro stations are Sant'Agnese - Annibaliano and Policlinico. Trams run along Viale Regina Margherita, past the Policlinico Metro, though I think you need to walk up or down the street to a tram stop.

The Palazzo Bonaparte has a good traveling exhibition on Van Gogh from the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands. It runs until early corrected >> MAY << corrected. English dealers are well catered to. Buy your ticket a day or more ahead of time to avoid possibly standing in a ticket line.

@acraven - Thank you for that input on Quartiere Coppedè. I was eyeing that area, so I think I'll add it to my list!

For Florence - if you haven't been to the San Marco museum to see the beautiful Fra Angelico frescoes, I highly recommend that. We were there last July and it was not at all crowded mid-day. If I recall correctly, we did need to have "timed entry" tickets, but I was able to buy those online on my phone as we were walking towards the museum. And now that covid restrictions seem to have eased even more, you might be able to walk right up and buy tickets on the spot.

Some of my other favorite lesser-visited sites for art are the Bargello (former prison which was turned into an art museum in the mid-19th century), the Medici Chapels, and the Palazzo Strozzi, which has really interesting art exhibitions.

Have a great trip!

I'll enthusiastically 2nd Erin's suggestion for Museo San Marco in Florence but as you mention revisiting favorite places in this city, we don't know what you've already seen?

Day 9: Train to Florence this is my base for 5 nights to revisit
favorite places and do daytrips to Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca and
possibly Pisa) Any suggestions for these days?

5 nights is 4 full days plus whatever is left on arrival day. The 4 additional locations listed will eat up all 4 of your 4 full days unless you combine Lucca and Pisa? Even if you do combine them - and so have 1 full day free - you'll need to take care that it's not a day that most Florentine museums - or at least the ones you wish to see - are closed.

As far as art and architecture in Rome, you might look at Palazzo Doria Pamphilj and Palazzo Colonna? Both have gotten thumbs up from some prior forum posters.

In addition to what Kathy lists for Rome
Villa Farnesina for the Raffaello frescoes
We were the only people there

http://www.villafarnesina.it/?lang=en

For Borghese Gallery and Gardens park:

• Be sure to stroll thru the “Italian Style” formal gardens adjacent to, and just behind the Galleria building itself. You can get a view of some of the garden and its central fountain from a window in the room that has the Rape of Persephone statue, and the two busts of Cardinal Borghese.

• A 15 minute walk from the Galleria and still inside the park, I also found the Pietro Canonica museum to be a real treat. It was his home and workspace, and is now filled with fabulous sculptures, ranging from busts of many of the European royalty just before World War I to massive works. Interesting architecture, too.

Also in Rome: the Villa Farnesina, mentioned above by ChristineH, is well worth the visit, and has its own gardens out front. One of the rooms on the upper floor, which is supposed to have stunning ceiling artwork, was under restoration back in September, and the scaffolding and canvas tarps obscured it. The rest of the building and rooms, though, were marvelous. It does close early - check its hours.

Spello has an annual competition among residents for the most decorative flower displays at front doors and windows. Apparently so does Assisi, but Spello’s were more extensive and impressive. Spoleto is a bigger town, and its winding alleys and stairways were a fascinating warren of nooks and crannies with amazing architectural surprises.

Lucca, the birthplace of Puccini, has nightly opera highlights performances in the Giovanni e Reparata church. Not sure if you can stay that late if you’re just doing a day trip, but the sopranos accompanied by piano were wonderful.

In Pisa, on the same campus as the leaning tower, the real treat is the Campo Santo Cemetery. It’s a building with an open green space within, and not a field full of tombstones. The massive frescoes lining its walls are truly amazing.

Florence: San Marco, mentioned above by Erin E., is fantastic. It’s basically just behind the Accademia with The David, and it also closes in early afternoon, so check the hours there, too.