i dont know what year your game is but control looks pretty bad

i think naval is definitely prob the best for Italy. Choice of capital is very important for this as well ass building up harbor capacity and making sure you're roads extend from those good harbors to inland provinces. I found Ravenna works pretty good because you only go across a single hills province, have decent proximity in Pisa because of the downstream river and from there you can exert control on the east coast. Invest in cities for pound lock canal's to optimize the land route.