6 days in italy, flying into Venice

I count 7 full days, not 6.
I assume you are flying into and out of Venice?
If that's correct, then you're correct that Amalfi will be hard to get to, and back to Venice, in the time you have.
Are you locked into flying into and out of Venice? If you could fly into and out of Rome, Amalfi would be doable.
If you "aren't really into art," the wonders of Florence should probably be skipped.
Based on what you've said so far, I'm not too excited, for you, about either Option 1 or 2.

Let us know if you can change your air to fly into and out of Rome. A lot depends on that.

You really should go for quality, not quantity. Seven days isn't very much time and the more you move around the less you'll see. I highly suggest you skip flying to Naples/Capri unless you have a specific reason for going. Keep your destinations as close together as you can so you lose as little time to travel as possible.

Here's what I would suggest. It will give you a taste of Italy without too much travel time as long as you are willing to forgo a little sleep and get up early - you can sleep when you get home!

Thursday arrive in Venice, settle in, have dinner, and go to bed as early as you can to try and beat the jet lag.
Friday - Saturday Venice
Sunday early - take the train to Verona (1 hr, 15 mins.)
Sunday Verona
Monday early - take the train to Rome (3.5 hrs.)
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Rome
Thursday early - take the train to Florence (1.5 hrs.). You can deposit your luggage at the storage office near track 16.
Thursday Florence - if you're not into art then one day will suffice here - it's a beautiful city and not to be missed!
Thursday late - take the train back to Venice (2 hrs.); stay near the airport
Friday AM - fly home

It's a little bit of a break-neck pace but since this is the only time you think you'll be able to go to Italy then it will give you an overview of some of the most beautiful parts. If you minimize your luggage you can do this. You'll have to check train schedules but this should work...the only leg I might question is the early morning on Sunday to Verona. You could always skip Verona and spend an extra day in Rome...

Have fun planning!

Thanks so much for the advice! I misspoke, we leave the US Thursday and arrive Friday evening, so unfortunately, it is only 6 full days. We got the best deal in and out of Venice, so we have to stick with that point of entry and exit. Thanks for any and all advice!!!

If you don't like art, I would skip Florence – even though it's one of my favorite cities. How about splitting your time between Venice and Rome? If you want variety, Orvieto is a lovely hill town an hour from Rome by train; you can do it in an easy day trip. The ancient port of Rome, Ostia Antica, is within the city and offers an interesting view of an ancient town.

If you haven't bought your plane tickets, it would save you time to fly into one city and out of another, but it may be too late for that. If you're flying out of Venice, definitely return the night before – you don't want to miss your plane because of something like a surprise train strike.

You're on the right track with the advice above. Northern Italy has lots to enjoy without even detouring from the main train lines. Yes, choose quality experiences over quantity "drive-bys," regardless of whether or not you expect to return.

Just a side note: if you are landing in Venice, the best view of Venice is from the window seat on the right side of the plane (if you are looking towards the front of the plane when you are seated, choose a window seat on the right). Hopefully it won't be too dark on your April evening! I agree with a comment made above: if you are not interested in art, you could consider skipping Florence since your time is so limited. It would be pushing it to visit Amalfi if you are landing in Venice. How about Lake Garda as a compromise? It's only 1.5 hours on the train from Venice to Desenzano or Peschiera.