Venice, Verona, Bologna, Florence mid October

We have been to all the places you listed, some several times.
Venice and Florence are at the top of the list. Bologna and Verona were interesting but not sure you need three days each there? Check on TripAdvisor.com under things to do

Other places to consider in that part of Italy are Ravenna, nearer to Florence and Bologna.
Also, Siena, Lucca and Pisa near Florence.

Not sure about textile related stuff. You should be able to handle any of the city in Italy by train.

Thanks. I’m trying to strike a balance between too long in one spot and too many travel days. Maybe more time in Venice and Florence?

I have been to all of the cities you visited. Been to Venice countless times, Florence three times, Verona as a day trip and Bologna for 4 days (one of which I used to go to Ravenna to see the mosaics). I think 3 nights in Bologna is not too long. Bologna is considered the food capital of Italy so opportunities for cooking classes will be plenty.

For textiles, I highly recommend Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo in Venice. Also in Venice, the Fortuny Museum is a must see if interested in textiles. The island of Burano (easy to get to from Venice) has a lace museum. In Florence, the Pitti Palace has the Museum of Costume and Fashion.

https://mocenigo.visitmuve.it/en/home/

https://fortuny.visitmuve.it/en/home/

Wow, we are doing these exact same cities in mid-October as well! So obviously I think you have a good itinerary. We are doing 4 nts Venice, 3 nts Verona ( with a day trip to Vicenza), 3 nights Bologna, 4 nights Florence. You might check out Italian Days-in the Rick Steves guidebook. We are signed up for their all day food and factory tour from Bologna.

For Venice,
we stay on the back canals in the Cannaregio area. One can take sunset pix without any people spoiling the frame. It's a completely different experience without the crowds, but still the charm of Venice. We stay at the Hotel Ai Mori d' Oriente, you may read reviews on booking.com, then reserve rooms directly on the hotel's own website, for the best price. From the hotel, you have a ten minute walk to a vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal. I think four nights in Venice would be magical.

From this area also, it's easy to meet up with Row Venice, small group rowing lessons on these small canals, about 90 minutes for around a 100 euros. It's harder than it looks, but what an experience.

Oh, Padua is an easy day trip from Venice.

Is this your first visit to this area?

Have a great trip!

Thanks! I will check it out!

Pat, it is our first trip to Italy. We spent some time in Seville a couple years back and looking for a similar vibe. Thanks for the tip about an area to stay and rowing. Everyone has such great ideas!

Row Venice was so enjoyable! I second that recommendation.

I wouldn’t cut any nights from Bologna. Plenty to see, do, and eat. But if your second full day in Bologna ends up being free you could always day trip by train to Modena, or in the opposite direction to Ravenna for the stunning Byzantine mosaics.

As you have plenty of time in Florence, you may spend an afternoon in Prato (easy train from Firenze SMN, then 20 minutes walking) to visit the textile museum, housed in a former textile factory.

My wife has already put the museum in Prato on the list!

I think your day distribution is good. I love Venice but if you have never been committing to more 4 nights is probably too much. You could steal a day or two from Florence for other places if your list of things you want to see grows. If you do spend 6 or more days in Florence I would suggest some days trips from there to nearby places; Siena, Lucca, Arezzo, Pisa.

Now onto the important stuff - textile related activities!
Venice: Small artisans - paper, beads, etc - still exist throughout Venice if you can find them.
Brocade Factory: https://www.luigi-bevilacqua.com/en/ (You need to arrange for a tour ahead of time probably through an outside tour leader. There are some good female led tours for this.)
Fortuny Museum https://fortuny.visitmuve.it/en/home/
If Lace interests you then you need to visit the island of Burano and see the Lace Museum there https://museomerletto.visitmuve.it/en/home/ and just as importantly walk around the corner to Dalla Lidia Merletti D'Arte which looks like all the other lace stores but has a huge back catalogue of laces you can browse that they are eager to share.
Palazzo Mocenigo (milder recommendation) https://mocenigo.visitmuve.it/en/il-museo/museum/the-museum/
The Venice Biennale art festival should still be going on while you're there: https://www.labiennale.org/en
https://art-fix.com/story/the-venice-biennale-2024-your-ultimate-guide/

Bologna does not have a ton of textile stuff but there are some stores:
- Valli Fabrics - Via Rizzoli, 3C - fancy brocades and high end fabrics
- Nella Tessuti Srl - Via Cesare Battisti, 3/C - very fancy boutique "may I help you" kind of store with beautiful fabrics
- Dal Tessutai - Via Nazario Sauro, 10 - this a hodgepodge store with fabrics, ends, bolts, and sprawling rooms full of stuff - much more approachable (near Mercato Erbe)
Bologna has many markets of all types scattered around the city so check the days you're there for potential stops.
Via Augusto Righi leading into Via delle Moline has some cool shops including the biggest thrift shop Humana Vintage - Via Augusto Righi, 16.
The other - much smaller vintage/thrift shops are:
- Friperie - Via S. Vitale, 49/A
- Fratelli Broche Vintage - Via S. Vitale, 54/D
- La Leonarda - 21 Via S. Vitale
Addresses are a challenge in Italy - good luck!

Verona is an arty, upscale, chic, shopping city with a cafe culture feel, but no fabric museums. There are many small boutique stores and custom clothes shops and different specialty shops scattered around the city.
Check out via Rosa and the continuing via Giuseppe Garibaldi for a hip little area with cafes, bars and smaller boutique shops. They may be able to give you some other hints on where to visit.

This may or may not interest you but Abilmente is a huge like multiple building convention center sized convention for all things fabric, embellishment, workshops, demos etc going on October 17-20 in Vicenza which an easy 25m train ride from Verona or 45m to 1h from Venice. https://www.abilmente.org/it/vicenza

Hope that helps, have a great trip!
=Tod

Thanks Hiredman, Lots of good info. I appreciate the details

..trying to strike a balance between too long in one spot and too many travel days...more time in Venice and Florence?

Just personal opinion / preference, but having been to all but Bologna, I'd subtract 2 days from Florence, and add one each to Venice and Verona. That will cut down on travel time and also allow you to do some day trips from each place.