Feel free to give me a PM.
I'm just north of Venizia, and (depending on dates) can meet halfway...maybe Choggia *excellent freshwater eel dishes! It's fun to dive the Adriatic and Bay of Trieste. The closest water to you from Firenze is Pisa (heading west), and north of there it gets into the Cinque Terre region.
Personally, I'm much more likely to be skiing IT/CH/SL, just in case you notice all the snow when flying over.
Oh Don, I swam the FSU submarine at the AUVSI