Raybo brings up a very good point on bike lanes and bike paths. There is a very good path between Malpensa airport and Pavia.
There is also a bike lane, most of the way between Lugano and Como. This one has a bypass on at leat one tunnel. There is a similar bypass between Cardona and Luganno. It is sure nice have an alternative to passing through those tunnels!
Also BRING SUN SCREEN. I had the worst time finding sun screen lotion in Italy. I did not find any till the 3rd day. I even visited some pretty large stores. I have no idea what happened to mine. I had thought I packed the perfect size bottle for a two week trip. When I got to my first nights hotel in Italy, it was not to be found. I fully expected to find it once I got home but it was not there either. To this day I have no idea what happpened to that bottle.