Moving/marriage/visa questions (Florence)

I am an American currently on the tail end of my 3 month tourist visa here in Tuscany. My Italian fiancée of two years has encouraged me to make a permanent move here. A few things stand in my way:

1: I would be living in a relatively small town with little to no job opportunities available. This makes getting a work visa very difficult.

2: I don't have the funds to continually go back and forth between the States and Italy. We have been talking of marriage, but the requirements seem to show that I would need to:
-Go back to the States
-Go to the consulate and get a Nulla Osta and an Atto Notorio
-Get a copy of my birth certificate and translate it into Italian
-Go back to Italy and get married
-As for my visa...?

A few more things need to happen, but my main concern is saving money going back and forth as I have limited savings and am currently unemployed. I'm wondering if any expats here have gone through this experience, and what exactly needed to happen? Do I need to get a different visa when I'm back in the States for a future marriage? I know there is a visa for alien spouses, but wouldn't we already need to be married for that to apply?

Thanks for your help!
-LT in Livorno Toscana