We are moving to Italy in a year and want to live within 1-1/2 hours from Rome. Our daughter will be three. I know that if the experience is enriching for her I will feel better about it. So I am looking for a city where there are parks, or other opportunities for kids. Maybe this is very american of me - but I guess when I invision Rome a three year doesn't fit well into late dinners with lots of wine.

Any thoughts on child friendlier cities? We are considering towns of Orvieto, Spoleto, Sermoneta and possibly Rome.

I also want to enroll her in a 1/2 day preschool if there is such a thing.

Thanks

i don't know about rome but i know we have just put my three year old name down to start at the local school this septembet, he will be going 5 days a week all day, or i could have put his name down for half days. he will be 4 in september. from hat i can gather to start school at this age is normal here.

From what I observe, smaller is easier with kids. Rome is made up of neighborhoods that cut her down to size, but how to choose which one? I'd look at even smaller cities than Orvieto, etc., along the train lines. Italian kids do spend lots of time (accompanied) in parks and in playgrounds.

I have both a 3 year old and a 6 year old and we live outside of Rome in a town called Casal Palocco. The 3 y.o. was in an all day pre-nursery class last year and will be in the nursery class this Sept. Our neighborhood has a lot of green area and some playgrounds. Honestly, the kids don't interact with kids that we happen to run into that much, but rather play with the kids from school. We even stay after school for a few hours with other kids and their parents and let the kids play at the playground there. Now we have more playdates and such.

In some sense it's true that the smaller the better; smaller towns are quieter and kids can usually go out alone even when very young. On the other hand, often smaller towns have fewer and not as good services, shorter kindergarden hours, occasionally less parks than the bigger cities.
Rome is actually excellently equipped with parks and has many car-free urban areas as well, something smaller towns often don't have at all. And in smaller towns there is no less nightlife and just as much wine (which is, byt the way, far less consummed than a few decades ago).
Overall, I would say that larger cities offer more opportunities for supporting families, while smaller towns and villages rely mainly on parental care, which include grandparents and aunts and uncles. So, if your concer is directed at these services, I would honestly prompt you to stay in Rome itself, where more families are strictly nuclear and lack the support network of an extended family. On the other hand, if you have the time to take care of your child yourself and don't mind kindergardens closing at 2 pm but would rather live in a really quite environment with very little traffic, then you should really aim at stauing somewhere smaller. Actjually, a far smaller place than Orvieto or Spoleto but way closer to Rome or another big city may serve you better.