[Turambar]

Hi,
rent a car could be a very good idea, but it depend what do you want to visit. If you want to stay in the center of main cities (Rome, Florence and Venice) without go outside. But if you want to visit also the countryside and the small cities and towns of Italy the car is welcome! Italy have a lot of places to visit but difficul to reach with public transportation. have a car is the only way.
Obviously with car you must drive for one or more hours each day to visit this places, but you can easly find where to sleep or have lunch spending less than in the cieties.
To clarify the distances: from Rome to Florence you need 3 hours and the same from Florence to Venice using the highway. But my suggestion is to use the national ways: are slower and you must spend a whole day from Rome to Florence and from Florence to Venice, but you have enought time to have lunch and to spend in the little towns and villages.

Bye
Riccardo