Bologna to Pisa by Train

Are you planning to day trip Bologna to Pisa??
With just 1 change it is about 2 hours. That's a bit long for a day trip IMO.

OK- so you can buy your tix online or on the app- then no need for validation.
You can buy your 2 legs tix separately
1 fast train ticket Bologna to Florence.
Then buy your Florence to Pisa separately- you can set how much time you have to spend in Florence- that is a regional ticket so you actually have 4 hours past the departure time you pick. You will need to validate this one. If you have a paper ticket you validate at the station- if it's a digital ticket - you validate on app.
Nothing to be scared of, quite simple.

If you want to go to Pisa S Rossore you will buy a ticket from Florence (Firenze SM Novella) to Pisa S Rossore. That will likely require a change at Pisa Central. No need to validate again.

Get the Trenitalia app, book mark the Trenitalia website.
Set up your account on the website then play around with both.
I find them very easy to use.

https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

Use the official train site- not a third party like Trainline, Italiarail.

Italian Station Names:
Bologna Centrale
Firenze SM Novella
Pisa Centrale
Pisa S Rossore

You can purchase all tickets on the app or on the website. All as 1 journey or split up if you want to allow yourself time in Florence.
Or you can purchase all tickets in Bologna- as 1 journey or 2.
Just because you have to change trains does not mean you need to stop and buy another ticket! and you would only need to validate once.

I am not the best at explaining trains - but it's simple. I am sure somebody else wil come along and give a clearer explanation.

General info on trains in Italy:
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

Yes - a day trip - so back to Bologna that evening.

To make it easier going buy each leg separately since you want to stop off.
Buy Bologna to Firenze direct train (these are labeled Frecciarosa or IC). These tickets do not need to be validated as they come with a seat reservation assignment. Only trains labeled R for regional need validations. You may want to buy this leg in advance for the best price and as it could sell out.

Buy Firenze (Florence) to Pisa Rossore when you are ready to leave and buy it either from a machine or from the ticket window. This ticket needs to be validated in the yellow machine on the platform before boarding.

Coming back do the same thing. Pisa Rossore to Firenze buy it from the machine or from the live person in the ticket window. Validate the ticket in the yellow machine before boarding.

Firenze to Bologna, if it is a Frecciarossa or IC train you don't need to validate these as the ticket comes with a seat assignment. You may want to buy this leg in advance for the best price and it could sell out.

It's a 2 hour journey each way, so keep that in mind.

Bologna to Florence is a high speed train, so you'll want to book that in advance, but you don't need to validate your ticket since you buy a specific seat on the specific train. Florence to Pisa is a regional train, so there's no advantage to buying in advance (caveat: some regional trains can sell out, double check just in case). Your best option is to buy the return trip to Florence in advance, but only buy each leg of the Pisa-Florence trip when you need it. If you buy the regional ticket at the machine, you have to stamp it in the machine to validate it; if you buy the ticket on your phone, you need to "check in" in the app to validate the ticket.

Thanks so much to all of you for the fantastic, helpful information!

It is long for a day trip. My focus is the Field of Miracles in Pisa. I'll be in Italy studying math history, so Pisa is a draw (for Fibonacci). But I was just thinking that since I have to change trains in Florence maybe I could just hop off and at least see the Duomo there from the outside - so that bit would just be a quick hop-off/hop-on. Perhaps silly, but I may never be in Italy again and would like to at least see the Florence Duomo since I'll be so close!

Thanks again!

It might be better to stop off in Florence on the return. You can get a same day return ticket for a 40% discount off the base fare for the Bologna-Florence segment, you are allowed to make one change on the return trip before your departure, so that gives you a bit of flexibility going back to Bologna from Florence. The ticket has to be bought at least 6 days before the planned trip.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en/offers/same-day_return_offer.html

There is an even bigger discount on Saturdays.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en/offers/same-day-return-special.html

There is a direct train from Firenze SMN to Pisa San Rossare at 53 past the hour starting at 7:53, except 8:53 which requires a connection.

Regarding the history of mathematics in Pisa, wikipedia has this note on the cathedral:

The lamp at the center of the nave is called Galileo's lamp, because a legend says that the great scientist formulated his theory of isochronism of the pendulum while watching its oscillations from the roof of the nave. The original, however, smaller and very different than this one, is found today in the Camposanto.

Thanks for the additional info, Sam! Yes, not just Fibonacci but Galileo too - hence my trying to squeeze this in despite it being a bit much for a day trip. I teach math history, so am hoping to get this to work.
Really good to know about 40% discount on same-day return!