Italy Rome to Florence

What is your overall itinerary?
If you plan to fly back home from Rome, then it makes sense to leave Rome as your last destination for the last few nights, therefore it makes no sense to stay in Rome also the first night. Just go to Florence immediately upon landing. From Rome airport to Florence it's only an extra 2+ hours (including the time for a train change at Roma Termini) and from Rome Termini station there are at least two trains per hour to Florence. Actually at 15:08 there is one Frecciargento train departing from the airport and directed to Florence and Venice that doesn't even require to change trains at Roma Termini.

The only reason is to get a Super Economy the next morning to Florence. That is only a 26 euro saving over a ticket bought when you land. Nothing to get too excited about.

Is there only one direct departure Frecciargento train to Firenze?

From the airport. And that is a recent change. You can get hourly from Termini in Rome.

Thanks for the suggestions.
Overall itinerary is: meeting my sister and husband upon arrival in Rome, who we will be traveling with. We thought that rather than worry about flight delays, may be easier just to spend night at hotel near Airport, rest and travel to Florence next day where we are tentatively planning to rent a car and do four days in a central location in Tuscany to do Florence, CT. From there thinking of turning car in and taking train from Florence to Rome and spending two nights in Rome. From there take a train to Bari where we will rent a car to go to Ostuni for two nights and drive to Bisceglia where we have family and will spend three nights with them. Drop off car in Bari and take train to Rome for departure home. Tentative planning stages.
Tuscany, Ostuni and Bisceglia a must. Any suggestions appreciated.

Kathy, I would reconsider renting a car "to do Florence and the CT". A car in Florence is going to be more hassle than help as so much of it is pedestrianized, and the same for the CT: with one exception or so, you really can't drive into the villages. Parking in La Spezia and taking the train into the region is the usual recommendation. As you're unlikely to use the car in Florence, I'd dispense with it and just take the train all the way to the CT. That will be a very long day, however as it's 2.5 - 3 hours each way by train. That or just rent a car for the day but just be aware that you won't (or shouldn't try to) be using it to go village-to-village.

If you don't plan on staying in Florence but in one of the smaller towns in Tuscany then it makes sense to rent a car in order to get around. Be aware that you cannot drive into any city with a rental car. There are restricted zones that are monitored by video camera. You will receive a fine each time you venture into any of these zones.

If you plan to stay in Florence and check out the surrounding towns it may be better to just take the train.

I would change a few things as well.

I would save Rome for the end of your trip since you fly out of there. There is no reason to visit it twice. You'll lose half a day that you can spend elsewhere. I would go from Tuscany to Bari and continue with your itinerary. This way your last few days will be in Rome and you'll have eliminated a change of hotels.

Donna

Thanks for the response. I should have been more specific about renting a car. We don't plan on renting a car in Florence as we know about rental restrictions etc. we thought we would take a bus tour to CT from Florence. Once we were done with Florence and CT, we were going to rent a car and stay at a central location in Tuscany for three or four nights.
We thought it would be too much to drive from Tuscany to Bari and thought it better to take the train.
We felt that since we arrive in Rome on a Friday it would be better not to do Rome over a weekend rather during the week. By doing Rome after Tuscany, we felt we would be breaking up our travel time to Bari. Perhaps we should reconsider doing Rome last.

We thought we would take a bus tour to CT from Florence

Assuming you're talking about the traditional escorted coach tour, I would think twice about this too. Buses cannot get into the CT - there's simply no rooms for them - so I'm very sure they park in La Spezia and everyone takes the train in and around. This is essentially what you'd be doing if going on your own. Considering the diminutive sizes of the villages, I'm not sure this is a tour I'd want to be doing with a large group, either.

Kathy,

Why not go directly to the Cinque Terre from Rome. Travel time is a bit longer than Florence,

but it's a great place to rejuvenate. From there head to Florence, and explore that great city.

Leaving Florence is the time to rent your car and explore Tuscany.

If you are not planning on Florence, rent your car in La Spezia and travel to Tuscany.

This is one of our favorite places to stay, and centrally located.

http://www.collelungo.com/en/.

Then follow Donnas' advice and travel to Bari ending in Rome.

I would spend that first night in Roma if you are meeting someone on a different flight- delays can happen to either or both flights that could make moving on that same day more stressful. Or have a Plan B to just meet up at the hotel in Firenze..