Train and Offer type on Trenitalia's website

Take a look.....
http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm

Regionale, Frecciabianca, Urbano, Eurocity,

These are types of trains. The type of train will depend on the route.

There are two classes of travel. 1rst and 2nd class.

Super Economy, Cartafreccia Special, Base, Ordinaria, Speciale 2x1, etc.

These are the fares that are available. Some will be for pass holders but most, such as the super economy and base fares are for everyone. Each fare has it's own rules for purchase so read them before buying.

Donna

Mike,

The "train" designations refer to the different types of trains used on each departure, and for the most part they're all operated by the main rail network, Trenitalia, which is owned by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Italian government). There's another newer network operating high speed service only between selected destinations, Italo Treno, operated by Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori. In addition, there are numerous smaller regional services such as the Circumvesuviana that operate smaller rail networks in various parts of Italy.

A brief description of the trains you mentioned....

• Regionale - slower service which usually stops at every station, somewhat like a transit bus. Tickets purchased locally for these MUST be validated prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or users risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!
• FrecciaBianca - these are high speed trains which operate between major cities. There's also FrecciaRossa and FrecciaArgento, and these all operate at varying speeds. FrecciaRossa trains are the fastest, and these run at up to 300 km/h. These trains require compulsory seat reservations, which will be provided with tickets. The reservations are specific to train, date and departure time, and can ONLY be used on the one train specified on the ticket. Try to use them on any other train, and again, hefty fines.
• Urbano - usually refers to city transportation such as Metro or Buses. For example, if a connection is required between Milano Centrale and Milano Cadorna and the website specifies "Urbano", then the passenger will have to get from one station to another via Metro, Bus, Taxi or whatever (Metro is usually the quickest).
• EuroCity - typically faster trains which operate between major cities in neighboring countries (ie: Switzerland to Italy). There are also InterCity trains.

Using the criteria of "better experience with one vs. the others" isn't really applicable. Pick your departure time and take whichever trains are provided on that route.

A brief summary of some of the tickets classes you mentioned.....

• Super Economy - heavily discounted tickets which go on sale up to 120 days from departure date. There's a quota for these and when they're all sold out, prices move up to the next tier. These are non-refundable and non-changeable once booked.
• Economy - this is the next tier and these are also discounted, and again on a quota. These have limited ability for change after purchase.
• Base Fare - this is the highest price tier and not discounted. This is the price you'll pay if you buy the ticket on the day of travel. These provide the most flexibility for change or refund.

The website provided by Agnes in the first reply is the best for information on trains, but you may also find this website helpful......

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/travel/trains.asp

No, the companies are pretty much all Trenitalia. Urbano means it is operated by the local transit authority and often is not included in the price, Eurocity could be a foreign train originating in Switzerland, Austria, or Germany. Regionale is a regional train subsidized by the provincial authorities and unreserved and low cost. Buy a ticket, validate it in the stamping machine on the platform, board the train, find a seat, and stand if you can't. Sometimes these have 1st class for 50-60% more, usually only on trains marked Regionale Veloce.
Freccia trains are high speed all reserved seat trains going long distance.
The basic pricing on the Freccia trains offer Super Economy, Economy, and Ordinaria. If you buy early enough, you can get a Super Economy ticket for cheap. They are totally nonrefundable and there are only a certain number allocated to each train. When they are sold out, only Economy and Ordinaria are available, Economy are more expensive, nonrefundable except under certain circumstances. when they are sold out, only Ordinaria full fare tickets are available, which are refundable.
Most Freccia trains just have 1st, and 2nd class, but some operating between Milan and Naples have 5 classes of service.
Cartafreccia is if you have a Cartafreccia card which is like a frequent flier card, but you need an Italian address to get one. 2X1 are 2 for one specials, usually only on Saturdays, and are 2 tickets for the price of 1 Ordinaria fare.

So, after reading all of the comments am I to assume that if I were taking the train from Vicenza to Florence I should book in advance? I will be staying in Vicenza and I had planned on taking the train to the close cities but I hadn't planned on booking the train from home. Will that be a problem? I am also planning on a day trip to Padua & Verona and another day trip to Florence. Any suggestions?

There isn't really a "should", it depends on what is important for you. You can buy ahead of time if you can commit to a specific train, date, and time - this is super economy and will give you big discounts, but you need to buy these tickets as close to 120 days in advance as you can, since they tend to sell out quickly.

If you want maximum flexibility, you will pay base fare but you can buy them when you are ready to travel.

I buy Freccia tickets as early as possible, because I can keep to a schedule, but for daytrips or regionale trains, I don't buy in advance.

Going to Padua or Verona use the Regionale trains. They are cheap and it is a short distance and the trains are frequent. There are not many Regionales to Florence because there is a narrow highs peed rail link through the Appenine Mountains, so highspeed trains have priority and there are a lot of them. But you will have to use a connection, either in Verona or Padua to get there. Buying economy tickets in advance will only save you 20 euro over the Base (full fare) round trip ticket from Padua. You'll save money by connecting there with a Regionale.

because there is a narrow highs peed rail link through the Appenine Mountains

To tell the truth there are 4 sets of tracks under the Apennines, the first two were opened in the 30s allowing a maximum speed of 180 kms per hour thanks to 30 kms of tunnels that include the famous (if you are a railway engineer) Grande Galleria dell'Appennino (the Great Tunnel).
In 2009 Trenitalia opened the second set of tracks where high speed trains run at 250 kms per hour. They had to dig 74 kms of tunnels to build an high speed line under the mountains.
Thanks to the new high speed link Regionali and high speed trains always use a different couple of tracks.

For many years the Grande Galleria dell'Appennino has been the longest double track railway tunnel in the world. My grandfather worked to build it!

One thing you learn very quickly in Italy.
"These people are really good at punching holes through mountains."
Still, my point being that there are no Regionales using these tracks, which at mid-morning have a high speed trains every 15 minutes in both directions. They do Bologna to Florence in 35 to 40 minutes, while the Regionales use the next valley over via Prato and take about 1 1/2 hours for limited stop Veloces.
So taking a Freccia train on this route is definitely worth the extra money.

I haven't looked recently but there used to be one InterCity train in mid morning from Bologna to Firenze. I had to look into this a couple of years ago when I wanted a Regional and there wasn't one except that slow route via Prato.

Otherwise it is the Freccia.