41 Days
Sue's been scouring travel websites and this is what SHE found out:

September is a good time of year to visit Italy. Temperatures are beginning to drop and the weather is usually dry. Summer resorts are less crowded after the schools open in the middle of the month.
Autumn officially begins on September 23.

October is the best month of all for visiting Rome: the sunny days are known locally as the "ottobrate romane". In northern Italy and at higher altitudes, however, temperatures may already be quite low, particularly at night. The evenings are closing in and during the last weekend of the month the clocks go back.

late Sept., early Oct. is a great time to visit ITALY!!!

There are many harvest festivals (especially chestnut festivals)and truffles and olives are in season!

Ribollita (that great bread soup that I ate everywhere we went in Tuscany) and Polenta (grains) are also in season!

see below:

Venice is at its busiest in July and August and it can be extremely hot and humid at this time of the year, with occasional afternoon thunderstorms. At the end of the high season, the mild weather often continues, and days may be warm and clear - or alternatively they can be cold, damp and foggy. The best months for sightseeing are March to June, September and October, when the city is not too hot and the weather is generally pleasant.

So it seems that we are visiting at the perfect time....