Twin centre holiday help please: Italy summer 2019

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Planning a 10-day holiday in Italy next August. There will be 4 of us, 2 adults, 2 DC 8 & 4. Already booked a week in a fab holiday village in Chianti roughly an hours drive south of Florence. Now need to sort out 3 days tagged on to the end. Thinking of moving on to a city for some culture and sightseeing but struggling to decide what's best. Initially thought Florence as this would mean we could fly in and out of same airport and would also make car hire more straightforward. Then thought of Rome as we've never been and would love to visit all the sights but I'm a bit worried that it could be too busy and chaotic for kids? Last city option has been Venice but not sure if the DC are too young to appreciate it? Alternatives to a city could be Tuscan coast e.g. Viareggio or an Agriturismo within easy reach of an interesting town or city?
Going round in circles with ideas...
Any other suggestions or advice on itineraries you've done would be greatly appreciated.

Hi! Love Italy! We did a very cool trip a while back but my kids are older than yours. We went in July, few nights Rome, Tuscany for more and finished up what at Lake Garda.
Rome was so hot..we absolutely loved it and walked everywhere, but your kids are much younger and might struggle in August..that said I love Rome..so it's easy for me to say skip it as we have done it. I actually prefer Rome to Florence. We also did an Agriturismo and I highly recommend that type of holiday..really educates your kids on farm to fork, they eat what they see, lovely animals, pool etc etc. This was one of our stand outs and was the cheapest part of our trip..but you need to book fast and research well. I didn't get our first choice, but we were very happy with where we went. You could head up to lake Garda and fly out from Milan/Verona or even Bologna. How many days is this last part of the trip. Lake Garda is within great striking distance of Venice for a day trip. Alternative you could stay in one of the greatly reviewed campsites outside Venice..best if both words.

Rome would be very hot in August. You could head over towards Elba or north towards Bologna. We stayed near Florence a few years ago at Artimino, a hilltop village with self catering among the olive groves. Are you flying in/out of Florence or Pisa?

You could visit Florence from your first week base. The holiday park might provide transport, which would be a huge bonus. I think I’d avoid big cities in August, especially with young DC. I second Lake Garda, and you could actually fly in and out of Bologna if you didn’t mind a bit of driving.
Having said I’d avoid cities, some of the smaller ones are gems. Sienna, Lucca, Modena or Mantova, all gorgeous and without the hordes of Florence.

Hi, thanks for the great replies. Bitofabelly your trip sounds amazing and we're looking forward to those kind of holidays when the kids are a bit older. I am a bit concerned re; the potential heat in Rome coupled with a busy city that might be too much for everyone and spoil what could be a great experience. We stayed in Tuscany over the same weeks this year and the weather was quite disappointing i.e. overcast, rain, cooler temps which a local told us was unusual for that time of year. Maybe we were lulled into a false sense that the heat in Rome couldn't be as bad as everyone says iyswim? As you say I think we may have left it too late to book a farm stay and I think on this occasion we'd like a city or beach or mountains to contrast with our rural Tuscan week.
Re; flights we'd planned to fly into Pisa and out of wherever is most convenient for the last part of our holiday however if we do end up staying in central to northern Italy for both parts then maybe Bologna could be good for both flights. Thanks for your help!
LIZS We did consider Elba as it looks perfect and would suit the kids love of beaches etc as well as our craving to explore. However it's a 4.5 hour drive from our first destination plus the ferry trip and I think it could be a bit stressful getting back from there to an airport on time on the last day. Definitely going to look into it for another trip though.
Bamboo Yes we plan to do day trip to Florence from our first base. DH and I have been before pre-kids but would love to take then too. We visited Sienna, Pisa and Arezzo this year and found their compact historic centres and beautiful squares (along with lots of gelato) ideal for little people. Going to investigate flights to/from Bologna now.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'll come back and let you know what we decide later.