Venice and Modena: smoking?

Like most of the EU, Italy banned smoking in restaurants, maybe 20 years ago. Outdoors though, on a terrace or outdoor seating, smoking is common, especially at bars and cafes.

Of course, enforcement may vary, very local places may do what the clientele wants, but we have never really had a problem, except occasionally outside if we are caught downwind.

I have found perfume a worse problem, but yes outside you can still be expose to smoke.

As mentioned just outdoors... very common at the bars and restaurants here.

I've had no problem in Italian hotels and indoors in restaurants, though you do see a lot of people (including young people) smoking on the street and at sidewalk tables. If you book some sort of informal accommodation--whether through Airbnb or otherwise, you may encounter a chain-smoking host. It happened to me just over a week ago in Naples. I always forget to check on what the booking.com listing says about smoking, because I know it's banned in hotels.

We noticed how many people would go outside to smoke then return to their tables in restaurants-sometimes multiple times! We’re averse too and I didn’t find it to be too bad even outdoors. There are walker/smokers though, but it didn’t seem as prevalent as previous European trips.

As told by other people smoking indoor is forbidden almost everywhere.

Recently, I have seen cigarettes and ashtrays

Where did you see them? Probably outdoor, where in several places is still allowed. Indoor is allowed only in public places where you could create a safe and insulated environment for smokers only (for example a restaurant with a separated room); in fact only a very little number of places has a smokers room.
Is possible in a short future that smoking will be forbidden even in several outdoor places, but is still under discussion.
In general there are about 24% of smokers in Italy: a number that seems bigger because are everybody in front of the door of bars and restaurants! :-D

In London recently in order to get into a busy pub you have to pass through a scrum of people furiously smoking right outside, I would guess that is typical in Europe.

Thank you all so much!!

I feel your pain. I too am spoiled with smoking banned indoors and as well on restaurant patio. We ran into a lot of smokers in Portugal while eating outside.