The farther you get away from large towns and cities, the more "pure" your Italian experience will be. I am not suggesting that you ignore the great Italian cities, but rather that you balance a visit to, say, Florence with a few days in the Tuscan countryside. In other words, watch where the crowds go and then walk or drive in the opposite direction. This is exactly the strategy I employ in my Photo Workshops - we get to see the sights everyone wants to see, but we really do get off the beaten track as well.

Italy offers one of the most satisfyingly wonderful gastronomic cultures on earth. You can eat well (really well) almost anywhere. I frequently ask people who work where I am staying where they go out to eat. Asking the desk clerk works, but asking the gardener is even better. I ask them where they would take their families for a good dinner. What you'll find from their responses is that you can eat great food for small money. Even if you are too timid to ask someone, see if you can figure out where local folks eat by going a bit out of the way and looking for local cars or foot traffic. One thing that my workshop participants often tell me is that after eating Italian food in Italy, their favorite place at home isn't the same.