March itinerary 13 days

I would add 2 days to Florence And day trip to Siena one day And another day to Pisa And Luca - so that would make 6 days in Florence - see if apartment is not more convenaient than a hotel

Would spend 2 nights in Orvieto And day trip to Assisi.

The other week I wouldallocatz it to Amalfi Coast, Pompéi, Positano, Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, Salerno

I would leave Puglia for another Time ( unless you can afford one more week holiday).

I would use à car for the Amalfi Coast but would not drive un Naples. That' sur about it.

You have 12 days, since you shouldn't count departure day, and your arrival day will not be a great day for sightseeing, assuming you're coming from the US. So you have 11 destinations in 12, or maybe 11 days.

I think your group needs to pick 2-3 cities/towns that everybody really wants to see and cut out everything else.

We actually have 14 nights in Italy,
Proposed:
Rome - 3 nights
Florence - 6 nights ( in apartment) with day trips to Siena, Orvieto, Pisa , Assisi
Amalfi Coast - 2 nights

1. That leaves 3 nights open.
2. We don't want a crammed adventure so we could leave the 3 nights open.
3. But is it safe to try to catch a hotel on the fly or should we have reservations for every night?
4. Should we stay 2 nights in Puglia before Amalfi?

If you had to choose, Amalfi or Puglia?

I have traveled with four people and we have traveled by train and loved it. I have not traveled by car so I cannot speak from experience. You can buy tickets early if you have your schedule planned to save the most money.

With that many people and luggage, you will need a minivan instead of a car and they can be expensive and hard to park.

Leave Puglia for another trip. There's a lot to see there, and I don't think it makes sense to traipse across Italy for two days. Even driving, which is the fastest mode of transportation between Tuscany and Puglia or Basilicata (for Matera), will take over 6-1/2 hours without any stops. Realistically, it would cost you nearly four days to spend two full days in Puglia/Basilicata. Spend your limited time closer to the Florence/Rome/Amalfi axis.

I don't see where you're getting 14 nights from. If you arrive on March 9 and depart on March 22, that's just 13 nights. If you're flying in from the US or Canada, the first day (March 9) is likely to be experienced in a jetlagged haze. You're not likely to accomplish a lot of sightseeing that day, so you really have only 12 truly useful days (March 10 - March 21).

The best places to stay to explore the Amalfi Coast in March are Sorrento or Salerno. Both are connected by bus to the AC towns. The ferries don't run in March. I think Salerno will be easier to get to than Sorrento by train, but consider that for two full days there you need 3 nights and use up 1/2 day to get there from Florence and another 1/2 to Rome, so it's not worth going for less. Also, most, if not all, the charming shops will be closed and the views will only be nice if you have good weather, not a sure thing in March. Driving would probably take longer than the train, plus the problems of a large car that csu noted.

If you are staying in Florence, you may have problems with a car there too (parking, ZTL zones throughout Tuscany and Umbria). Assisi is served only by slow trains, so it's not practical as a day trip except by car. Orvieto is better as a day trip from Rome by fast train. It takes about an hour longer to get to from Florence by train and they aren't as frequent. Pisa is a half-day trip from Florence by train. Many recommend combining it with Lucca as a full day. Siena is better by bus, since it takes you to the historic center (train station is farther away) and you won't have the hassles of the ZTL and parking.

Just pointing out that neither Sorrento nor Salerno is on the Amalfi Coast, but I agree with Chani that Salerno may be a better base at that time of year.

Amalfi is a city, Puglia is a region; I would leave Puglia for another trip.

If you arrive on March 9 and depart on March 22, that's just 13
nights. If you're flying in from the US or Canada, the first day
(March 9) is likely to be experienced in a jetlagged haze.

I'm only counting 13 nights (9th - 21st) as well. The 22nd doesn't figure into the equation as that's the day you depart. You'll kill a good chunk of the 9th with arrival-day processes - especially if immediately heading off to a further location - and the same with departure day. Realistically you have 12 sightseeing days to work with, and you'll lose some of that transferring between locations.

We don't want a crammed adventure

I'll agree with the others that you should take Puglia off the plate: much too far to do with the time that you have, and you'll kill most of two days just getting there and back. Personally, I'd take the AC off the plate as well as it involves backtracking to Rome, and Chani has described some of the other complications with that one. If you truly don't want an overly busy schedule - and considering the amount of day trips you wish to take - I'd do something like this:

9th - 14th: Florence (the 9th being arrival/travel/settle-in day) 6 nights
15th - 16th: a smaller town between Florence and Rome (Orvieto? Lucca?) 2 nights
17th - 21st: Rome; 5 nights

However, what we don't know is what you're most interested in seeing and doing during your time in Italy? Why you chose the locations you have? The reason why you've allocated so little time for Rome? Suggestions for a less far-flung itinerary and good substitutions for dropped locations would be easier to do with a bit more information. :O)

A non-crammed, quasi-minimalist trip would be:

Arrive Rome, immediately take the train to Florence. Get a 2 BR apartment for a week relatively near the train station. Do all the daytrips you like, or none of them, just grooving in town. We spent five nights at an apartment a year ago March on Piazza Santa Maria Novella, a block away from the S.M.N. station. Wonderful. Pretended we were Florentines.

Then a Freccia train down to Rome. Rent another 2 BR apartment for the week. Again, do your daytrips--Orvieto comes to mind but there are plenty more--and then fly home.

I guarantee you'll save money by renting rather than staying at hotels. It will take a little planning, shopping, taking out the garbage, etc., but when we've done it it's just been a great experience. BTW, we used VRBO, but the others are fine as well.

Are the four adults all family? That might be a factor in sharing an apartment... :)

Enjoy your planning!

Yep, I could go for Jay's plan as well: two weeks split between both cities. Just threw in that two-nighter in case you wanted a short break in a smaller locale.