Cell phone in Italy?

Yes. Here are some ways:

Go to a TIM, Vodafone, or Wind store and you can buy yourself a
cellphone and get a plan that will allow for international calls and
texting that will fit you budget.
Check with your current provider to determine if your phone has the
proper band to work in Europe and then have them unlock it. With ATT
I just needed to contact them and they sent me the code to unlock my
iPhone. Then stop into one of those stores above and buy a chip, and
a plan, that will work in you phone. They will put the chip in for
you. Save your old chip for when you come back home.
Pay for international calling and texting with you current provider.

Also, if you have SKYPE on your current phone when you are in a wifi zone, your hotel, or any number of other places around Europe, you can Skype with people. Or you can pay for SKYPE minutes and use your phone through SKYPE, I have never done this last one, but I am told it works and that SKYPE minutes are cheap, but you have to buy the minutes ahead of time.

If you have a T-Mobile cellphone here in the U.S. it will work perfectly overseas. Depending on which cell plan you have, you'll likely pay a bit more for calls ($0.12 per minute or something similar) but using their 4G and 3G internet, and texting is free if you have an unlimited plan.

When we spoke to a salesperson with T-Mobile they said you can buy a pre-paid cellphone here in the states and use it overseas with the same benefits...but since we already had a plan with them there was no need to buy a new phone. :)

I probably should have added that we have Straighttalk phones from WalMart. They work fine in the US but they do not offer any kind of service overseas. Thus why we're looking at buying a phone there or something similar. :-)

You should buy one before going. In my experience I think you will save a few bucks. Or you can use an old one, if you have one. For example I have an old Motorola Razr which I use for that purpose (although I also have an unlocked IPhone now).
Whether you buy one or have an old one you must be sure it must be:
- UNLOCKED (have it unlocked by your provider if it's an old phone)
- GSM (that's the EU standard. In the US, AT&T uses GSM)
- QUAD-BAND (Europe uses different wave length)
You can buy a cheap one on Amazon.com or on Everbuying.com.
Once in Italy, all you need is to buy a SIM card with a local tel number.

We use Skype when we are overseas, it is convenient and cheap. You don"t have to go to any stores to purchase any chips or phones. We use it on our iPad and iPad mini. Set it up at home before you go. We would Skype in the morning with our kids at home from the hotel or from any Starbucks, really any place they have free wifi.

I bought a cheap TIM phone in Italy a few years ago, still use it (I go back before the 12-month renewal is up) by topping up the euro when I get there. The phone cost 30 euro with some phone time on it; make sure you can use it to call the US.

For a 2.5 week trip, I might follow other posters' advice and get your phone unlocked before you go (Verizon has a big problem accomplishing this, in my repeated experience).

Our most up-to-date tips (maybe edited a year ago) are at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech. I'm not sure of the benefit to you of texting versus the email capabilities of your tablet. We do normally have Wi-Fi in all tour hotels and on the Italian tour buses (subject to the usual issues of weaker or stronger reception in some rooms or areas). If people at home may call you, another low-tech option is to leave them a copy of your hotel list. Note that we ask tour members not to make phone calls while onboard the bus.

skip,

There are a couple of different methods you could use.....

• Buy a phone when you arrive in Italy - this would be the cheapest option for calls within Italy. It would also provide an inexpensive way to send and receive texts. However for "emergency contact" use, keep in mind that you wouldn't know your number until you actually buy the phone, and anyone wanting to call you would have to make a long distance international call. You'd be without a phone or contact from home until you get to a phone store and get the phone set-up (which you'll probably need help with, since all the menus and account details would be in Italian). The phone will likely be provided with ~15 minutes of time when you buy it, and once that's depleted you'll have to top it up.
• Buy a phone from one of the travel phone firms - this wouldn't cost too much more than buying a phone in-country, but has some distinct advantages. You can either buy an unlocked quad-band GSM phone from E-Bay or wherever and use it with a travel SIM, or buy the phone and SIM from the travel phone company. You'd have the phone prior to leaving home, so would be able to give your overseas number to contacts. Many of the travel phone firms use U.K. based numbers and while this would also involve an international long distance call for anyone wanting to contact you, there is an additional option. At least one of these firms offers a local direct connect phone number (at slight extra charge) that is "mapped" to your travel phone. You could also call forward your regular phone to the direct connect number. Anyone calling the local number in your area will be transferred seamlesly to your travel phone, wherever you are. Many of the travel phone firms use post-paid billing, with calls charged to a credit card, so there's no need to top-up. Check the websites for Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Telestial, Mobal or EuroBuzz for details on costs, etc.