For the record:
This My trip to Italy was one of the best trips of my life.
Levanto in fall/early winter was a ghost town except for locals and people there for the event (think closed up business for the winter). There had recently been massive flooding and mudslides that the region was trying to rebound from, so the influx of off season folks was received really warmly. Really. Warmly...
Cinqe Terra wine train, Genoa, Milan, Portofino, Florence, Pisa, and Rome were all accessible on a day trip. I ate incredible food everywhere, drank incredible wine, experienced incredible hospitality, and got some head dips. My friend rented a Ferrari, I saw incredible artwork in the museums, and the forecast is so easy to read it made planning simple. There's waves. Now it's flat. Too easy.
I wouldn't go for a "surf trip", but I would go and keep an eye on the swell to justify my dinner, drinks, and coffee snacks that night.