Awesome...I did Italy last year to visit my father, who was on sabatical in Bologna at the time...a beautiful town. Most of what you'll need to know will be in the travel books, but if you're stuck for a book there's an english bookstore right at the middle of town by the leaning towers. Pisa is quite a view, though the drive there is 9/10ths of the fun (I heart Tuscany), but if I had to choose I'd pick Venice to spend a day...imagine a city without cars, built like a maze...