In 2005, I attended a conference at the University of Bologna (Italy), and managed to work in a little sightseeing while there. Bologna is off the radar for many tourists visiting Italy, but I found it to be a very interesting place, and was glad that I added a couple sightseeing days to my stay there. Lots of interesting places to see and museums to visit, but without all the tourists, making it feel more like I got a sample of the real Italy.

Mark Wasson, http://www.markwasson.com > Trips has detailed summaries of my trips