I am trying to plan an itinerary in Italy for myself, my two children 7 and 9. I would like to be there about 20 days and we like to get the feel of a place wherever we travel. I would like to go to Venice, somewhere in the Tuscany region, and somewhere in the Genoa area- possibly Liguria. I have been to Rome, so we would not be heading there. We would like to base ourselves out of these areas and then do day trips to interesting cities around our base location. I was thinking about renting a villa in Tuscany- I would appreciate recommendations of reputable companies.
Will these three areas give me a widespread base to see cities of interest, or should I substitute a different area? Should I add another base location?
Also, my husband will be joining us sporadically through the trip (that intrusive thing called work) so I want to base myself in areas I can easily get a train into, or should I rent a car- in each area, or the whole stay.
If you have any particular recommendations for cities in these areas as well i would love to hear them.
Thanks

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions. My two cents look for a apartment rather than a villa in Tuscany. AN aprtment actuallu in town can give you more dining options within walking distance rahter than a trip in the car every time. You may want to take a look at apartment rentals for the whole trip. Gives you a better feel for the area.

Also an apartment in town would give you and your children more day-to-day interaction with some of the same local people, adding anther layer to your vacation experience. It doesn't take much for you to be recognized at the local gelateria or mom-and-pop grocery. By the third day, you'll be a "regular."

We have just came back from a six week trip with our boys aged 9,6 and 1. We stayed in apartments which was ideal. (i found them at BBplanet.it) we stayed six nights each time mostly. this let us do two day trips each place. an hour each way in the car was enough for them.
Do some reading on roman times, the middle ages and general italian history so you can make the places come alive.
I liked the smaller less touristy towns the best.

I will look into apartment rentals.
Bosworth family- do you have an itinerary of cities you visited- and your home bases. IT would help immensely! Thank you for your posts,

I am going to write a trip report.
To plan my trip I brought the DK eyewitness travel book on Italy as it has lots of photos in it. Then I found pictures of what I wanted to see. Found them on the map and then picked a variety of places to stay to cover as much as I could. Checked on google.maps to see how long it would take to drive to places.

At the top of Italy we stayed at Riomaggiore (for 2 nights) as we wanted to walk the cinque terre trail. Then we went to florence and did days trips to Pisa and Fiesole. then on to venice no trips from there. Then to Monterado (a small hill town) in Le Marche - lots of little hill towns and castles here but you would need a car here, also visited the frasassi caves. Went to Urbino too but wished I'd picked somewhere else.

We also made sure we could move ourselves and our luggage. And I would get an apartment with a washing machine. My boys also liked seeing fountains.

Have a great trip.