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[quote=Anonymous]You will quickly find that renting hotel rooms will be very pricey...many charge per person,not per room and that will add up quickly. Consider renting apartments or alternative options like doing a farm stay that would include food. Another thing to explore are campgrounds. Many European/Italian campgrounds have cabins to rent which are usually fairly cheap and most popular tourist destinations have campgrounds on the edge of the city. We used to live in Italy and here are some of our favorite spots:

Sicily...off the typical tourist track so more affordable than other parts of Italy. Some complain about it being rough around the edges, but we loved the authenticty, the food, and the people. Also, unbelievable ruins....some say more there is more to see there than in Greece! Our favorite places in Sicily include: Agrigento (Valley of the Temples), Siracusa (beautiful little city on the water with wonderful greek theater performances in the summer), Cefalu (pretty beach town). The festivals are also amazing...Easter, St. Agata in Catania, and just stumbling upon a town's patron saint festival.

Lucca...beautiful little walled town nestled between Pisa and Florence. Rent bikes and explore the town by riding along the top of the walls. Very easy spot for doing day trips to hike Cinque Terre (gorgeous!), the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the wonders of Florence, and all of the enchantments of Tuscany.

Venice...people either seem to love it or hate it. We loved it but I think that may have been because we visited during late October so nearing off-season. We rented an apartment along a canal and especially loved wandering the city in the late afternoon evenings when all of the crowds of tourists and cruise boat visitors excited the city. We had friends who did some glamping right outside of Venice and that might be a way to save some money while having a unique experience:

http://goglamping.net/europe/lodge-resort-canonici-di-san-marco-venice/

Rome is also fabulous city to explore with all of its energy, gelato, and history! And Naples with Pompei and Amalfi Coast are also stunning. There really is so much to do that the challenge will be to narrow down your search and I'd actually suggest just picking one or two areas of the country to focus on so you can truly embrace the Italian pace of life instead of frantically rushing from site to site in a mad dash to see everything. Be honest with yourselves and your kids about what you really want to get out of the trip and then start researching. You may be able to get some really good deals by planning far in advance, especially in terms of finding large houses/apartments to rent.

A few sites that might be helpful in planning your trip:

http://www.agriturismo.net/
http://www.ciaobambino.com/ciaobambinoblog/index.php/tag/Italy
http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo/Italy/italy.htm
http://soultravelers3.typepad.com/soultravelers3/italy/index.html

Italy is truly a fabulous place to visit, especially with kids. Have fun planning!
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