No, its not just because the pizza you'll find in Italy's smaller cities will likely be cheaper than comparable pies in the big touristy ones like Florence and Rome. It's because to overlook places in Italy off the main tourist track is committing a travel sin of the highest order. Sure, I love Venice as much as the next person, but the summer throngs of selfie-snappers there and in Florence? Not so much.

Enter what you might call Italy's B-list cities, which are not huge, may not host prestigious film festivals (so what?) and may or may not begin with the letter B but have that A-list appeal nonetheless. There are more than a few but definitely consider including Bologna in the north and Bari down south in your travel plans.