Italy is a VERY territorial country, north and south are very different, esp when it comes to bike paths and respect of cyclist.
I rode in 10 countries and best experience I had are between northern Italy and Austria. Like a tour between Verona and Klagenfurt or Alpe Adria bike path... things like that.
France is also very good: good food, lot of culture, great bike heritage, nice bike paths. Maybe a little bit less vary than Italy. Some people say they're not very friendly but I always had nice experiences with them. Problem is they just can't speak English..
but you always find a way.
France is very big, twice as much as Italy.. it also depends where you go.
I'm Italian FWIW