Itinerary Help. Two weeks in March with kids

Would certainly fly open jaw. I loved Amalfi coast but with 6 & 8 year old boys, not sure they would enjoy it as much. The scenery is great but I think that is about it for young children. You can do a day trip (long one) from Rome to Pompeii but you need about 4 hours just to tour it and am not sure how they would hold up. You might look up on this site "Plan your trip" and Rick has some ideas for travel with children to Rome to keep them busy. Good luck.

The Ciao Bambino website has some great Italy suggestions. Check it out.

thank you all for your help. we are thinking 5-7 days in rome, 2-3 days venice, and maybe 4-5 days in bologna. seems like bologna is a good base for exploring nearby towns and also a ducatti motorcyle factory is nearby!

I like Bologna a lot, the food is amazing.  But aside from climbing the tower, kids might be that entertained.  Venice i think would be a place that a kid would really enjoy being in. So I suggest moving some Bologna days toward Venice.  While in Rome you might enjoy gladiator school, and I'm sure that they had a kids class too.  Here is a recent discussion from this board  http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=35210  

Hi, we are planning a trip in the summer with kids ages 9 and 11. I welcome any suggestions you find of hotels in Rome or Venice that are good for a family of 4. The best option I've found for a family in Rome so far is the Best Western , available for Costco members at a good discount. Here are some ideas of what we're considering:
1. Ostia Antica - closer than Pompei, probably fewer people even in March and especially in the summer. 2. Venice - Guggenheim museum has some arts and crafts for kids on Sunday afternoons 3. Naples - I read about an area northwest of Naples that has boat tours that go over submerged Roman ruins. We are not going to Naples but it sure sounded cool. 4. If we were going to Naples, we would definitely try to fit in Paestum 5. Near Venice, we hope to go to Padua and the Scrovegni Chapel. 6. We are going to Milan to see the Last Supper. 7. We are not going to Florence or Pisa. I really wish we could fit in Pisa, but we have decided quality over quantity. Florence would be too overwhelming. Good luck with your planning. We are also going to the South of Italy to see some friends. It is chewing up a lot of travel time so I can't suggest this unless there's some really compelling site. I did read about a beach hotel near Paestum that sounds like a nice resort. Maybe that would be a good "vacation in a vacation."

Thanks for your tips.
Instead of a hotel, you might want to look at renting an apartment. we just booked an apartment in rome (trastevere neighboorhood) for a week on vrbo.com the apartments work well with our boys. they have more space to run around and we save money by preparing some food in the apt. plus you feel more like a local than a tourist in many of the neighboorhoods. tushar