Italo vs. Trenitalia high speed train

Those are the only two high speed options right now, with Italo having limited routes.

As for reliability, I would not have any significant concerns about strikes. They are rare enough, are announced well in advance, and usually affect only parts of the rail system. Nor do I know if Italo is immune from strikes. I would book based on when and where you are going, then if a choice, what the better deal is.

Trenitalia has a section "In Case of Strikes" permanently on their main web page. By Italian law, trains must run, albeit limited, on many routes. These routes and runs are also shown on the Trenitalia website although it is in Italian. Strikes are normally announced in advance. It is possible and probable that there would not be a train for your reserved tickets. They can be exchanged but that can be hectic as well. As for Italo, their runs are limited and depending on where you are going, you may not even be able to ride one.

Italo trains are newer, the company has much better costumer service (it is a private one instead of remnant of bad state-monopoly era).

They operate just on the major "Y"-shaped high-speed axis though (plus couple trains to Verona and Ancona - from Bologna).

In all of our years of travel in Italy have never had a train strike. They are not frequent. We did get caught in Spain once. Italy and Trenitalia do not always use the same station so double your stations when booking.

I'd always opt for the Italo train whenever/wherever possible. We took an Italo train from Naples to Rome this past September and loved it. The price was the same as Trenitalia for the same journey and the Italo train was so much nicer! The seats were more comfortable, the cars themselves are shiny, new & extremely clean and above all, the restrooms on the Italo train were also very clean and usable which was not the case on several of the Trenitalia trains we used. Although we've never had a problem with Trenitalia strikes during our 3 visits to Italy, I did contemplate the possibility of strikes when I decided to use Italo and felt that there would probably be a much lesser chance of Italo striking than Trenitalia, so it was one more reason to go with Italo Treno! Have a great trip.

Italo has started to add waiting rooms to their service. If you are taking a train out of Venice, this is a great help because there is virtually no seating there for Trenitalia customers unless you are a frequent traveller and have their membership.

Another vote for Italo. Last September we traveled from Venice to Florence on Italo's mid-level service, which they call "Prima". It was very comfortable and reasonably priced.

Here's a photo of the Italo lounge at Venice Santa Lucia station, and a photo of the interior of our coach.