Nine Nights in Rome/Florence in March

You might do well to take the train directly to Florence upon arrival, visit Florence, then work your way south - that way, you could consolidate all your Rome time at the end.

liz, are you counting nights or days? Two nights usually means one full day. and maybe part of another one.

We definitely do not want to move around too much

Liz- with 9 nights you are planning 5 hotel changes. That's a lot of moving around. As Jane says a 2 night stay means just a day and a half.
You do not have time for both CT and a Tuscany town.
Rome deserves a minimum of 4 nights, try to put all those at end of trip rather than splitting your time there.

Head to Florence on arrival- 3 nights. Day 1 is a jet lag day.
Choose Lucca OR Siena as another stay. Do the other as a day trip from Florence.
If Lucca appeals more to you then stay there 2 nights with a car and visit a few hill Townsend your way to and from. See Siena as a day trip from Florence. Or vice versa- maybe decide which hill towns you'd like to visit and chose your overnight stay accordingly.
I have not been to Lucca, have been to Siena and can tell you driving in and out of Siena is a pain. You'd want to make sure your lodgings have easy access and parking no matter which town you chose.

Then to Rome for final 4 nights.

Alternatively stay in Florence for 5 with day trips then Rome for 4
No need for a car

I agree with most of the postings up thread. You do not have enough time to visit everywhere. Generally you lose a half day as a min and sometimes more when you change locations. Frequent changes with limited time can greatly impact your planning. I would head directly to Florence and plan three nights in Florence. Then three nights in Sienna on the way back to Rome, and three nights in Rome. Or my preference would be two nights in Sienna and four in Rome.

Add my vote to the 'go directly to Florence' on arrival day and cluster all your Rome days at the end

I would add a day to Rome and one to Florence and do Lucca as a day trip.

My $0.02

Voting with the folks above that 9 nights = only 8 full sightseeing days plus one partial jet-lagged one: not nearly enough for 4 locations + the CT and hill towns. If you are a first-timer to Italy, 4 nights is my recommended minimum for Rome as there is so much ground to cover there. I'd give Florence 3 and spend 2 in either Lucca or Siena. Skip the CT as you'll only have two days for Florence (there is much to see in that one as well) and late winter weather could be a crapshoot in March anyway. Ferries won't be running, lots of businesses will be closed, and day-tripping that one puts you smack in the middle of the day-tripping mob if very large ships are in port in La Spezia.

Night 1 - land in Rome, train to Florence/partial, jet-lagged day
2 - Florence - full day sightseeing
3-Florence - full day sightseeing
4-Siena or Lucca - hotel transfer/partial day sightseeing
5-Siena or Lucca - full day sightseeing
6- Rome - hotel transfer/partial day sightseeing
7- Rome - full day sightseeing
8- Rome - full day sightseeing
9- Rome - full day sightseeing

If it were me? I'd choose just two bases, Florence and Rome, and do some easy day trips from Florence. That would cut down number of hotel moves + give you some flexibility to work around the weather. Chilly and wet? Stay in town and cruise the churches and museums (although the Uffizi really needs advance, time-entry tickets to avoid a long ticket queue) Sunny and dry? Hop a bus and go to Siena for the day or take a train to Lucca. You could do a 3rd day trip (escorted wine tour?) from Florence but gosh, that would leave you little time to explore that city's many treasures unless not all that interested in them.

Night 1 - land in Rome, train to Florence/jet-lagged partial day
2- Florence - full day sightseeing
3- Florence - full day sightseeing
4- Florence - full day sightseeing
5- Florence - full day sightseeing
6- Rome - hotel transfer/partial day sightseeing
7- Rome - full day sightseeing
8- Rome - full day sightseeing
9- Rome - full day sightseeing

Food and wine can be had anywhere so it really doesn't matter where you stay for that.

Have you been to Rome before? I assume that you have, since you pretty much ignored the wonderful city.

Lucca and Sienna are great towns, both you can see in one day. Staying two nights is fine, if that is what you want, but if you haven't been to Rome, don't ignore it. Rome deserves several days. In fact, you could spend the entire nine days there and still not see everything.

If you insist on going to Lucca and Sienna, then do Lucca first, spend a night there then move on to Sienna for one night, then back to Florence.

HI ALL - Thank you so much for all of your help!! I have been to Rome. The reason we did not just divide the trip between Rome and Florence is my husband really wants to go to a quaint, quiet town outside of a big city. We live in LA - lots of traffic, hectic jobs etc etc...so also looking for some peace and tranquility- just one or two nights - if that makes sense. THANK YOU

I am just adding my voice to the good advice you have received. Since you will be jet lagged anyway keep going and get to Florence on day 1. Spend three nights in Florence. You can easily spend 4 nights there.
Based on your stated desire for your " husband really wants to go to a quaint, quiet town outside of a big city." Lucca will provide you with exactly that, particularly if you stay inside the city walls. It sounds like you are in need of a break from your hectic life. Lucca will give you a relaxing unique experience. Less locations hops will provide you with a more satisfying experience.
Finish the trip with a day or two in Rome.

Here is what you can expect.
Florence https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157671594102956
Lucca https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157675723169046