Please rate these cities for me?

If you 'brake for frescos and mosaics', then you have to keep Padua and Ravenna! Although I've only visited Bologna in Google Street View - for about an hour! - it's very beautiful (all those porticoes and towers) and gets rave reviews on the Helpline esp. for the food. I also see lots of Verona fans; sounds like lots of beautiful and interesting/'important' architecture...Decisions, decisions... I didn't get to see as much of Padua as I would have liked (definitely going back every chance I get for the Arena, or Scrovegni, Chapel!), but what I saw was very beautiful - gardens and green spaces.

I've only been to Vicenza and Ravenna. Both are great visits. Between the two,IMO, Vicenza is better as there's a bit more to see. Which one to leave out kinda depends on what you're into but as far as distance Ravenna is a bit out of the way. From Vicenza it's about a two hour drive. All the others are pretty much grouped together.

Of the five spots you have listed, Ravenna as Ron points out is the odd man out. The others are grouped together rather neatly. Vicenza has a lot to offer if you are an architecture buff. Palladio's home base for most of his career. There are several works within easy walking distance in the historic center. Teatro Olympico should not be missed. There are several Palladio villas nearby. You have mentioned some of the bigger cities nearby where you are staying in Verona, but there are a lot of lovely, interesting and very charming spots within an hour to an hour and a half drive near you in the Veneto and just west near Lago di Garda. Some of them can be grouped together for an interesting tour. In the Veneto, Bassano del Grappa, Citadella, Castelfranco Veneto, Asolo, the Palladio designed estate near Maser are all lovely destinations. To the West, Sirmione at the bottom of Lago di Garda would make an interesting daytrip.

My original plan was to do Verona, Vicenza, Padua and Bassano del Grappa/ Marostica/Soave together.
I would really love to go back to Venice for a day since I loved it so much, and we are so close, yet I have not seen other sites. Then I was thinking of Bologna because we love great food, then I've heard great things about Ravenna and RS seems to have more "stars" rating Ravenna as having more great sites. Maybe I can't go wrong...but my planning nature is getting the best of me! I also don't want to race through the area, I want to enjoy it. We are staying outside of Verona with a car. How would you design your time with three full days and one day coming from the dolomites to Verona -so 1/2 day? We are headed to Lake Como after the Veneto. I'm not sure what to include or leave out, since I've never been it is hard to know what I would like best. We love quintessential Italy, art, food, and wandering. If you were planning it, what would you do?

I have been to Verona, Padua and Ravenna. My favorite of the three is Ravenna. The architecture and mosiacs are great. Pastry is great. Prices seem lower than other places. I liked Verona, but not has much as Ravenna and Padua.

We really loved the medieval downtown in Verona plus Roman ruins and non-ruined Ampitheater. We would definitely go back but probably skip the hostel (Villa Francescatti) we stayed in the first time.

I have been to Vicenza, Padua and Ravenna and rate all of them highly. However since you are going to be near Verona, then Ravenna is the most out of the way. From my guide book (Lonely Planet) I learnt that there are a number of Palladian villas not just in Vicenza but also in the country areas outside but not having a car I could not get to them. So there is plenty to see in the country areas of the Veneto.

For the ones I've been to: 1. Ravenna 2. Verona 3. Padua 4. Bologna Vicenza sounds so cool that I'm tempted to rank it between Ravenna and Verona, even though I haven't been there (yet).

Thank you all very much for your input!

Verona, Vicenza and Padua are on the same train line between Milan and Venice. Ravenna is the most far-flung of your choices. I would prioritize Verona, Bologna, Vicenza, Parua and then Ravenna.

1. Rome 2. Venice 3. Florence
4. Bologna Verona, Vicenza, Padova and Ravenna are not really great cities... same as Pizza - besides leaning tower in Pizza there is not much to see... In the other hand you might consider visiting South of Italy...

RS shows how to do Padova in a 3 hour trip. We did it one night while we were staying in Venice. I wanted to see the Scrovegni Chapel and made a late evening appointment online. We took the 30 minute train from Venice to Padova, walked around and had a coffee, went to the Scrovegni (beautiful!) then dinner at a RS suggested restaurant where we were the ONLY tourists on a Friday night. I took what the waitress suggested and it was great! Then back on the train to Venice.

It is hard to figure out what you might like when you've never been, so getting others opinions is helpful. We did Rome, Florence, Siena, Venice and CT in 2008. So this time we thought we do Northern Italy: Dolomites, the Veneto region, and Lake Como. After that we are off to Switzerland, France and Germany. So, sometime I'd like to head to Southern Italy, but not for this trip. I realize these are not "great cities" but we are hoping for something more off the beaten track of major tourists; looking for quaint villages, old world charm, art and architecture, but with fewer people. Maybe I'm right?? Anyway, we have 3 full days and 1/2 day. My thoughts right now are: 1 day Verona 1 day Padua 1 day Ravenna or Bologna 1/2 day Bassano del Grappa/ Vicienza as we come from the alps.
Any feedback is always appreciated.

If you make a long day out of it you could probably squeeze Ravenna in with Bologna. It's only about 45 mins down A14 from Bologna.

Why don't you "plan" to visit all of them, and then make your final decision once you're there? Part of the decision may hinge on factors like the weather and how busy you want to be. I've been to Verona, Ravenna and Bologna - in fact, we've been to Ravenna twice and Bologna three times because we enjoyed those cities so much. Someday we'll make it to the other two cities. None of the cities you named are cute villages, but I would say that all of them are beautiful small cities that are relatively untouristy (except Verona, which is touristy due to the Romeo and Juliet hype). Ravenna is special for one thing, its fabulous treasure of a whole bunch of mosaics. I would say they're better than those found in Rome or Venice, because the buildings are generally smaller, so you can see the mosaics closer up. So if you're not sure if you love mosaics, then maybe skip Ravenna. If you're into food, then do include Bologna. Stellar for food, it's also a fun, interesting city that has a different sort of personality. People-watching is great, and there are enough sites to keep you busy for a couple of days.