independent/guided tour in Sicily

Ezekiel, you don't need a tour company to take you to the major cities of Venezia, Firenze and Roma. In any case, with all due respect that plan is crazy. Europe is very different than South America in terms of possibilities and infra-structure. I'd not try to replicate the way of traveling in Italy by the way of traveling in Peru and vice-versa because the places are very different and so are the strategies of visiting their major sites. First thing I'd do is to double the number or days on each city to 2. Minimum. Anything less than that will mean exactly what you are trying to avoid: spending a whole day in a uber-mass-tourist city bus tour (or boat tour) where you will just get a glimpse, en-route, of major sites without having any time to actually enjoy them. On the Venezia - Firene - Roma - Sorrento route the best option is to use high speed trains (+ regional train to Sorrento). It makes no sense to go from Firenze to Sorrento and backtrack to Roma. Then, you should fly between Napoli (near Sorrento) and Palermo, quiok hop over the Tyhrrenean Sea. In all those cities there is ample infrastructure for people like you, not wanting to be herded along the way. As for the experience in a small town in Sicily, maybe we can give some tips if you tell us what are your major focuses of interest: beach? mountains? a place to srpung from on day-trips? How small is too small?