Where to now?

Jeff I would head north to the Dolomites and then revisit a few of my favorite locations. Also Lake Como would be great. If it's in the off season I'd definitely return to Venice.
In fact, someday I'm planning on staying in Venice for 3 months a year....it's a dream of mine!

Bologna is well worth a visit - a wonderful town for walkers with incredible food. Milan has some terrific sites: its Duomo, Last Supper, great shopping. Northern Italy also has some wonderful smaller cities that are relatively tourist-free (at least compared to Rome, Venice, and Florence): Parma, Padua, Ferrara, Ravenna, Verona, Vicenza. If you don't want to keep changing hotels these can be seen as day-trips from Bologna (Parma, Ferrara, Ravenna) or Venice (Padua, Verona, Vicenza).

Jeff,
If you're looking for something off the beaten path, you might want to head toward the heel of the boot. Lecce is a magical baroque city. Alberobello is famous for its unique trulli houses and is definitely worth an overnight. Matera has some unusual scenery-- cave houses carved out of rock (I didn't see the movie, but The Passion of the Christ was filmed there.) The Gargano Peninsula (the spur on the heel) is striking in its beauty as well. Tourism, especially by Americans, is somewhat rare in these areas, so fewer people speak English, if that's a concern.

If you're looking for something more mainstream, Sicily is beautiful and very different from the places you've been. Taormina and Erice are gorgeous. I haven't been there, but I've heard the Aeolian Islands are amazing.

We've traveled all over Italy and haven't been disappointed yet. Just throw a dart at a map and you're sure to find something interesting.
Ciao,
Meredith

try the Adriatic coast for your next trip. With hundreds of miles in length you could choose any part to concentrate on. If towards the northern end, then I'd also suggest Urbino.

It would be helpful to know a few phrases in Italian, though, because many of the places don't get as many English speaking visitors.

We are in the same planning stage for another trip and have visited most of the places on your list.

We're going to find an apartment in Trastevere Rome and try to explore the City in depth, all the secondary sights, just like we did with a revisit to Florence on the last trip. It was an awakening in slow travel on the revisit to Florence which turned out to be far richer than prior visits. Our philosophy of travel in Italy has definitely changed to a much slower and relaxed pace and now focuses on specific areas to experience instead of just seeing the high points. I think this is a natural evolution of the Traveler in Italy.

Hi Jeff,

Yes - the heel is yet undiscovered. Learn your Italian!!!

Or, maybe go back to one of your favorite places and really get to know it. Live right there!

Safe Travels