Ah touche'! Emilia Romagna and Tuscany have the coldest winters in Italy, apart from the Alps. I went to Bologna in January and it was @*&%ing freezing! :-) You're right, they're very left-wing, which is also odd as they're also very rich.
Sicily & Campania are the most conservative bits and also the warmest!
I went to Tuscany in August and it was boiling. The strangest thing is as you drive in from the Alps, where the temperature was roughly 15 degrees Celcius, you're an hour into Italy and once you reach Modena the heat really hits you. I went from 15 to 35 degrees in roughly sixty minutes and I was shaking from the sudden temperature change.
Wonderful place though. You can't beat Italy for sheer natural beauty.