Home Base for Vacation in Italy?

Question

I'd like to take my wife and 13 yr. old daughter to Italy in August. Because my wife is having some health problems, I need a good "home base" that we can live in and from which we can take day trips or, if we chose, just chill out. We would rent a car ....

Where would the optimal location be? I would prefer not to be in a city (Rome, Florence ...). Thanks

Answer 1

we made a "home base" when we were there for a week.  we stayed at L'Ulivo just outside of Spoleto.  It was a great base to travel from, less than 2 hours from Rome, about 3 to Florence, and about 4 to Naples.  We went all over that area, too, the Umbria area.  Spoleto itself was a quaint little town that was so beautiful and everyone was so nice.  The place we stayed was an apartment part of a larger villa olive orchard.  Our host family was really nice and it was so quiet out there.  We found our place of choice through http://villavacations.com  The website was helpful and the people who run it made it easy to book.  I definately wouldn't have changed what we did or stayed at.  For another reference, we booked our rental car through Auto Europe.  we had a Smart ForFour.  That little car was a ton of fun to drive and quick!  I hope that helps.

Answer 2

Check out Fiosole.  It's right outside of Florence up on a big hill.  It's quite lovely.  There are busses that go into Florence if you choose to do so, but you can also drive safely there.  I can't say that for any metro city in Italy.  Because it's so close to Florence you are only 2 or less hours by train (sorry I don't know about driving) from Rome, Venice and the seaside.

Answer 3

what about an agriturismo? I advise you a region in the north of Italy like Veneto. Emilia Romagna is good also. It takes 1 or 2 hours to go everywhere. You can spend a day in Venice, you can enjoy the beauty of Garda lake or Dolomiti mountains. There are very nice cities to see like Padova, Verona, Mantova, Florence, Bologna. Rome maybe is too far for a day trip. If you go to www.agriturismo-italia.net you can find some information