Something New in Central Italy

Anzio is a short train ride south of Rome: WWII history and a nice town with fishing harbor. If you go for lunch, it is worth at least 1/2 a day. Arezzo, near Florence, is a beautiful hill town; walk from the train station to the top of town to enjoy a park and view. There is a Roman arena, museum, and interesting church (cathedral?). It's worth 1/2 day or more.

Bologna is not covered in RS books. If that is central for you. I can give you some tips.

You are looking for something new, but I don't know where you have been already. List what is old for you and I'll suggest more places. But this is a list of must see places to consider in Tuscany: www.borghiditoscana.net For Umbria this is the top 10 things (10 cose=10 things) ranking according to a popular Italian website (sorry no English, but town names are the same): http://www.10cose.it/umbria/cosa-vedere-umbria.html On the right panel of this same website, you can choose the top 10 of a lot of places everywhere. I use this website a lot before I travel to new spots.

Bologna came to my mind as well. Here are some photos I took there in 2008, in case you're interested: Bologna in May 2008

Bologna is out of scope if your request is about Central Italy. The Bolognesi would be incensed if they heard that you said their city is included in Central Italy. They belong to the North and they'll make sure you remember that. They'll give you a plate of rotten tortellini if you tell them they are in Central Italy.

I would never insult the Bolognesi, Roberto! I had said in my original post that I didn't want anything listed in RS because I've either been there or travel at that time of year is problematic or tentative schedule puts us there at a time when things may be closed. I've been to Rome, Ostia Antica, Pompeii and Naples (I know these aren't central either but I went on a day trip from Rome the first time I saw them)Orvieto, Assisi, San Gim,Florence, Sienna, Volterra, Lucca, Pisa, Montalcino (never go there in November. The town is pretty much closed.),Montepulciano. Don't really have a desire to go to Cortona unless there's a good argument for it. We'll see some of these towns this year, too, but I'd like to see something new since I've been to some of these places several times. I do like the suggestion of Arezzo but am really open to just about anything. I really appreciate the help!

In November I would stick to bigger towns. In Tuscany, Arezzo seems to be the only one you haven't seen yet. That is a nice day trip. Bologna is not Central Italy, but only 37 minutes from Florence by high speed train. Parma or Ferrara could be also doable. Actually Venice isn't so far either. Two hours by train from Florence, therefore doable even as a day trip. I've done it many times from Florence.

Spello is at the top of my (long) list of "next places."

Not really central, but Ravenna is wonderful and can be done as a long day trip from Florence (by train, typically via Bologna sp??). I'm not remembering if it's in RS; I haven't seen it but haven't used all his guidebooks. Wonderful Byzantine style mosaics, if that interests you, and interesting history, if you spend a little time reading ahead of going. Different feel from the places you've been, and certainly quieter than the cities you list. Might be a nice change of pace, and almost all sites are an easy walk from the train station. (Exception is S Appollonaire in Classe, which is a short bus right, but was my favorite there) If the weather is OK, you can rent a bike to get around; lots of folks living there get around by bike.

I didn't like Bologna, but I seem to be the only one; it's certainly easy to get to from Florence. In addition to Ferrara, other places in Emilia-Romagna that I liked were Parma, Modena, and Ravenna; all would be reached with a change in Bologna, and Parma and Modena are on the same train line, so you could easily combine two places in one day if desired. A bit farther from Florence is Padova. It's in RS so I'm not sure if you've seen it already; if you haven't, it's quite worthwhile (and, despite being in all the guidebooks and being close to Venice, I found it relatively un-touristed). Spello was a nice small town, but I'm not sure how accessible it is without a car. A friend of mine enjoyed spending a day in Prato, very close to Florence (I've never been there myself).

Prato and Pistoia are two places very close to Florence that are not mentioned anywhere in English language guides. Yet both have very quaint historical centers with a nice Duomo and Prato also has a famous castle. Both can be visited on the same day with a day trip from Florence. Numerous commuter trains and also buses go back and forth along the Florence-Prato-Pistoia corridor. Prato is only 10km (6miles) from Florence and Pistoia is 25 km (15miles) from Florence. Video guides of both: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=mTv6oornTPA&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DmTv6oornTPA http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=-HC0oONTTvI&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-HC0oONTTvI

I would be honored to 2nd Roberto's suggestion of Pistoia- this is our " home base " while visting Italy.