Italy, itinerary, thoughts?

Day 7 looks particularly interesting!

I think it's a decent plan, enough time in each place, enough travel days. Some may say it's too many cities, meaning too much time spent on the train, but I enjoy train time, too, so can't complain!

Someday, return and get a car and explore Tuscany and Umbria!

Day 7 will be excellent ;-)
Tuscany would be beautiful and isnt out of the question as yet... we are still playing with ideas. There is a lot of time on trains but got to get from one place to another somehow... we are going to try and do early or late trains so we dont waste the chunk of the day. Do you think theres a better order to do these places?

You might consult the map of train routes between major Italian cities HERE.

I've taken the train along the west coast, from Pisa to Rome before, and I can tell you that the occasional views of the sea from the cliffs is wonderful.

So you might consider CT after Nice as you mentioned above, then coastal train to Rome, then take the central line to see Florence, then go over to Venice.

Regarding Tuscany, a lot of people go to Orvieto from Rome, as a day trip by train. It's in Umbria, not Tuscany, but certainly gives you the same feel, of being in an old hill town. It has beautiful old streets to walk, one of the best Duomos in Italy, and Etruscan caves to tour. It's a great place, and mostly flat on top, so easy walking around town.

Another option would be to take train Rome to Orvieto, see Orvieto, then take train on to Florence. This avoids backtracking to Rome before going to Florence.