An Italian tune up isn't just about carbon deposits at all. Yes, to prevent carbon etc. in the valves especially for DI engines, it is good oil, good service, and occasionally longer runs getting the car up to temp.
For Italian cars of old, especially ones with port injection and solid tappets, they NEED to be occasionally driven hard to quieten down the tappets, and re-lubricate the hydraulic ones. There is great benefit of running a car hard occasionally. I personally have seen the benefits on my Busso, where I was told by the Euro community that occasional runs to redline are healthy for an Italian engine, and keeping them in the low rev range and low load their entire lives is actually bad for the engine. My Busso revved faster and felt stronger after a good hard run. It felt snappier. The tappets were a lot quieter. Engines are designed to run up to redline (when properly warmed up of course). You will not destroy your engine by revving it out occasionally.
Mind you, Italian tune ups are really meant for Italian cars really. They are meant to be revved out, they love to be thrashed and thank you for it. Other makes, or lazy big V8s or modern DI boosted little 4cyls running lean will probably see no benefit from it.
The Italian tune up is best for Italian cars, and particularly old ones.
