Italy in October

[Beaver]

I'm off to Umbria in October on an annual trip to play football against some local teams. This year 2 of us have decided to drive rather than fly. I've spent hours looking at the various (and very helpful) threads on here about best routes from Calais to Italy, but as we're going first week of October I'm worried that all of the sexy Alpine passes will be closed.

We need to be near Citta Di Castello within 48 hours, preferably a mixture of motorways and decent twisty roads, with a stop over somewhere scenic en route. Maybe via the lakes?

Any suggestions most welcome!