Allen, Sirmione is a magical place. Some older guidebooks try to dignify the Roman remains and the museum at the end of the peninsula by calling it Catullus's villa but it was clearly the villa of someone a lot wealthier than a poet. However, the main thing is the wonderful position of the place, on this long tongue of land projecting out into the lake. If you are thinking of spending some time on the lake, apart from Sirmione most of the really interesting places are at the northern end, since the southern end is mainly flat. You might want to visit D'Annunzio's villa on the western shore; he was half-crazy and extremely antipatico but the Fascist regime rewarded him (or shut him up) by awarding him this villa in a superb position overlooking the lake; the house and grounds are well worth visiting. Salo', the heart of the puppet Fascist regime at the end of the Second World War, is in fact an attractive little town. A bus-ride (or you could hire a car, I guess) up the western side of the lake is extremely dramatic, passing through long tunnels and then emerging on high points with splendid views. Stop off at Limone, extremely picturesque and then spend a night at Riva at the top of the lake. Come down the eastern side, stopping at Malcesine (very picturesque, complete with castle) and Garda itself.
There, that's the lake sewn up. Verona: I lived in Verona before moving to Venice and I agree it with Andrew that it is one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. There is certainly enough there to keep you going for several days.
Visit all the sights in the centre of the city but don't miss San Zeno, as Andrew says; in addition to the superb doors there is a splendid Mantegna. And make sure you cross the river to see some of the churches on the opposite side, which people often miss, for example, Santi Nazaro e Celso - and also the splendid Giardino Giusti, one of the finest gardens in Italy.
And do go to Vicenza, as Brian says. A lovely city.
The other major city in the Veneto (apart from Venice, obviously) is Padua. You can't miss the Giotto frescoes in the Scrovegni chapel. And the basilica of Sant'Antonio is one of the great churches in Italy - worth visiting for the Donatello sculptures alone.
But then I'd also put in a plea for the following cities: Treviso, Montagnana, Asolo, Castelfranco, Cittadella... If you're going to pick just one of these, take Asolo - which also has strong Browning associations and is extremely pictursque. Probably you'll have to move to the Veneto in the end, Allen. Throw away your return ticket.
All of these places can be reached with reasonable ease (and little expense) by public transport.
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