Much quieter and more authentic, but you will really need to have a car to get about if you want to explore the quiet back waters. Why not contact the Italian Tourist Office in London and ask them to send you some publicity literature as a starting point? I'm sure you'll have a great time, IF you can cope with heat, take a daily siesta Italian-style and don' want chips with everything.

I would strongly recomend Umbria and Marche as quieter and often more interesting than Tuscany.
If you look at a map of central Italy you will see that a range of mountains, the Appenines, runes down the East side of the country. On the seawards side of the range is Marche which has some wonderful inland cities and small towns such as Urbino, Cagli, Pergola. It also contains a long coastline which I have never visited. The biggest town is Ancona and there are, I belive, some cheap airlines flying there.
On the other side of the Appenines is Umbria which is superb, much better than Tuscany. It has so many fine cities you will need a number of visits - Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto, Orvieto, Todi and it has hundreds of fascinating small villages. We go there nearly every year.
Between the two run the mountains which are easily accessible, often having roads running most of the way up them. There are beautiful flower meadows, impressive crags and superb views.
As the previous posting said, you really need a car.
Good luck

Thanks for all your comments - our flights are booked and we are taking on board all the advice before settling on the choice of our accommodation

roll on July!

Robert