Sicily

I'm unclear on how much time you have. Sicily is really a place to go when you have at least 2 weeks, preferably with a rental car for a good chunk of the time. It's a fascinating island and I wouldn't care to go for just a few days (adding at least one day of airplane travel to my trip) and see just one small corner of it. I certainly wouldn't go to Sicily for a few days just to go to a beach, because even after landing in Palermo/Catania I'd expect to spend two or more hours getting to my chosen beach town. In the end, that day would be pretty well shot. How many days would then remain?

The largest airport in Sicily is in Catania. Palermo also has a good number of flights. To figure out how to return to the US from Sicily, I'd go to Google flights and test the results from both Palermo and Catania to my particular origin. Unless you can fly non-stop from Rome to your preferred US airport, there may be a better alternative--a way to get home with a single stop in Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Dublin, etc. Or not if you don't live near a major airport.

Acraven said it all. Flying to Sicily for a beach is a non-starter. You want a beach vacation go to Florida. The beaches are nicer and everyone speaks English. No kidding, beaches in Italy are often rocky. Where there is sand you are shoulder to shoulder on chairs you must reserve and pay for. Many other things to do in Italy.

Thanks! We only have a few days, so sounds like it’s not a good idea.

Beach - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimini

You can rent a car in Venice and drive 5h to the Saturnia Thermal Baths in the Grosetto province of Tuscany. You can then drop off your car in Rome that's 2h away.