Is this a sensible plan in the Italian game?
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The bishop wants to focus on the f7 weakness, so it tries to stay on the a2-g8 diagonal.
How are you getting to a4? It would take a couple of moves to get there in the Italian.
The bishop can go from b3 to a4.
Yes, it will take a couple moves. By that time black should’ve castled, and there wouldn’t be much point for Ba4. The only reason I see for Ba4 is to pin the knight if black hasn’t castled, but I don’t think it will last. Staying on the a2-g8 diagonal exerts pressure which could last a while.
What about using it to maintain the possibility of exchanging the bishop for the knight while making it easier to switch between targeting two different diagonals, such as the a4-e8 diagonal and the a2-g8 diagonal?
I think spending two tempi to accomplish such a goal is inferior to the other alternatives. More common, is the Bb3 - Bc2 maneuver. You can tell how much more useful the bishop is on c2. It can be useful in an attack and it aids in the c3 - d4 central expansion.