Italian rail pass

I think if you do the math buying train tickets point to point will be cheaper than a rail pass.

My specific answer to your question is yes. A railpass will get you to those cities. As Scott points out, a railpass may not be a good value for you compared to just buying point to point tickets for each trip. Clicking the "Railpasses" tab at the top of the page should lead you to a handy map that provides current estimates of point-to-point ticket prices that you can use to compare to the cost of a railpass.

Has anyone here ever recommended an Italian rail pass, over point to point, for Italy? Just askin'.

Not to my recollection, Kent! And yet people keep asking. :-)

Pamela, I think point-to-point tix would be cheaper than a railpass for the route you have shown. I bought a railpass for Italy a few months ago because I was planning to take several very long train trips within Italy. I never priced it out, but figured it was cheaper with the pass. I still had to make reservations and pay fees of 3 Eu or 10 Eu per rail trip. My trips were Ventimiglia-Venice, Venice-Naples (and then to Sorrento), Naples-Cefalu, and Cefalu-Rome.

We were in Italy traveling by rail this past September. We went to a travel agency recommended by RS (in Venice) and bought all our tickets in one transaction. It was quick and easy. The cost was better than a pass and the agent made sure we had seat reservations when needed and told us how things worked. There was a small fee to the agency, about five euros as I recall. I thought this was more than fair for the personalized help we received. I do not have an RS book that covers Florence but I bet there is an agency he recommends at your first location.

Thank you for all the experienced replies! No rail pass and we will go to a travel agency once we get to Florence to purchase the tickets for each let.
With appreciation, Pamela

There really is no need to spend the extra money at a travel agency either. Buying a train ticket is extremely simple. Walk up to one of the automated ticket machines press the button for english and follow the instructions. Super easy and super fast. I once had to buy a ticket in under five minutes to catch a train that was leaving and I made my train. Ron in Rome has an excellent blog post on riding the rails in Italy. http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/buying-a-train-ticket

Pamela,
There is no reason to pay extra at a travel agency. These agencies will not charge extra http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=17b7ee71509da110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD&let=f or just look for the FS in the window.