Car or no car?

You definitely don't want or need one for the cities and major sites. There are many costs and pitfalls trying to do that.

If your goal is to go off the beaten path then it is handy as you can envision. Renting a car for a couple of days to see the Tuscan countryside is a common and simple procedure.

As a fan of renting a car while in Europe, I can not recommend you doing so for the 3 cities that you are scheduled to visit. Venice: not needed and not usable there. Florence: I would hazard a guess that it has ZTL's which can incur a fine if you were to take it into the city center. Rome: I can not imagine wanting to drive in Rome (ZTL's and traffic). I would rent one for the Tuscany area. Check train schedules and viamichelin for travel times and costs to areas that you wish to visit outside of the 3 major cities. Full disclosure: I have not been to Rome or Florence. However, I did have a car for Venice (parked of course). We had a car for Venice, Bologna, Tuscany, Milan and northern Italy. People have written about not being aware or seeing the signs for the ZTL's. However, we did clearly see the signs showing a ZTL zone and signage marking n ECO Zones which require special plats/tags in Mllan.

Hi neekablue and welcome to the forum!

Gosh, you're going to get all sorts of votes both yea and nay, and none of them will be wrong! It's all up to personal travel style and how much homework you want to put into getting around with a rental? You are right: lots of people have enjoyed having a car for bumping about rural Tuscany and Umbria (you do NOT want a car in Florence, Rome or Venice!) Tourists who are fond of a few nights in an agriturismo almost always benefit from a car as they're usually located outside of villages and towns.

On the other hand, there are so many places you can easily day-trip by train - with no parking issues, speed or ZTL cameras to watch for - that the Hubster and I would always go with the rail (or occasionally bus) option whenever possible. Public transit is also nice if wishing to enjoy a few glasses of wine or other adult beverages along the way or with dinner before heading back to our base. 😉

Granted, trains don't go everywhere, and buses can be few and far between to/from some locations so if your heart is set on any of those, then rent for a day or so but do the homework, OK?

Thanks everyone!
Yes, I know that cars are not wanted or needed in the 3 major sites. I was only wondering about the Tuscan/Umbria area. One place I had in mind to visit was La Scarzuola. It looks like the best option to get there is by car.

I'm so excited to be taking this trip. It's been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember.

Fly into Venice or Rome and out of the other, Florence is in between. Train among the major cities and stay in the city so you don't have transportation problems.

A car is highly desirable if you are going to spend time in the country side. To visit St. Francis's La Scarzuol, you will need a car. By having one you have now opened up a lot of site to see. You can go to Assisi, Perugia, Cortona, Siena, etc, etc, all the hilltop towns and small cities you read about, and do it on your own schedule without wasted down time in train stations or the hassle of planning your time to the nth degree.

Florence is a good place to get a car but I wouldn't use it as a base. Get outside of town in an agritourismo or smaller town with a hotel that has parking (important). Then you are free to do whatever you want, when you want.

I agree with the others that a car isn't needed (and isn't advisable) in the larger cities. However, a car is useful for getting to small towns that aren't well served by trains or other public transit. A good example of that is La Scarzuola (which is in Umbria), as the timing or frequency of public transit could be challenging.

A few points to keep in mind for car rentals in Italy.....

It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. (so you must carry both). These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office).

You may never be asked for an IDP, but failure to produce one if requested can result in fines on the spot! Failure to pay the fines on the spot can result in the rental car being impounded (which will result in further financial penalties). Have a look at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/rental-car-requirements for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the posts on the forum concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities (especially Florence!). Some of these are enforced by automated cameras and some by local police. Each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket and visitors often don’t know of these violations until several months after they’ve returned home. In addition to the actual fines, renters will also be charged by the rental agencies for providing information to the authorities. You may find this website helpful - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

There’s also the possibility of fines for driving in bus lanes, parking tickets, tolls and speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor system which not only monitors instantaneous speeds but also average between two points. Violate either or both parameter and expensive tickets will follow!

It's great that you're getting such an early start on your planning!

Itinerary for up to 14 nights:
Fly to VCE
Spend 2-3 nights in Venice
Train to Florence
Spend 2-3 nights in Florence
Rent a car in Florence. Get immediately out of town to somewhere south (choose one base near Siena from where you can take car day trips). Spend at least 3-4 nights in Tuscany and Umbria.
Drive to Rome. Return the car as soon as you hit town. Take a taxi from the rental car office to the hotel.
Spend the last 3-4 nights in Rome.
Fly out of Rome FCO.

Adjust days depending on the total nights you have and your personal preference.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Not sure if I should start a new topic here but - I had never heard of an Agriturismo until recently. Any recommendations?

Agriturismo: Old farmhouse reconverted to tourist accommodations.
Plenty of websites will have many choices, including the following:
www.agriturismo.it
www.agriturismo.com
www.agriturismo.net

If you go to an agriturismo, be careful about choosing one that is not too hard to reach. Plot it on Google Maps, then use Google to calculate how long it would take to drive to your intended destinations on your day trips. Some of those farmhouses require a lot of driving to get to.

Yes rent a car. Yes stay in an agriturismo in Tuscany! Rick Steves has goos recommendations especially for the Siena area.

I want to underline what Roberto said about getting an agriturismo that is not too hard to get to. A few years ago, a friend rented a place in Tuscany and invited a group of us to join her. On a map, it looked to be a short distance from the town of Sarteano and near the A1 highway. However, there was an unpaved road to the property that was extremely rutted and winding, which took 20 minutes to negotiate - - mostly in 1st gear. The local road was also very twisty, so getting to the autostrada took another 20 minutes. Doing that drive rt every day got really old.

Thanks! Looking into them now. I will keep in mind about making sure they aren't too out of the way. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful advice!