Trenitalia strike Sept 7 and 8, 2026

Relevant info here
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/train-strikes-in-italy-020a77b1-acec-4d1f-9c0f-197a6cfcaa79

I would look into flying rather than that really long train trip
I think Ryan Air has direct flights

I have been there when strike threats are announced in advanced by law but when the day came everything was fine. But I would just invest in a one way ticket on Ryanair as insurance in your case. The flight is 1 hour 20 minutes.

Hi, Giangilberto from Milan, so you can already check the official website of the Ministry of Transport for strikes which lists all the strikes that will take place starting from September because August is a protected time slot.
I looked at it on the 7th and 8th. There are various strikes, practically three of which are national strikes involving railway staff with the same timetable from 9:18 pm on the 7th to 9:17 pm on the 8th, with various trade union groups, like CUB Trasporti/SGB and national assembly and so on.
However, you can also check now if your train is guaranteed and Venice - Bari is a long-distance train it falls within the Trenitalia table A which is permanent on the Trenitalia website and you can consult it now if your train is in the list should travel. I am attaching the link to the table from the Trenitalia website which concerns their strike policy.
The FS (Ferrovie dello Stato) group is participating and therefore it is a strong signal. It is the staff who drive the trains, that is, it is not a marginal group in the unions. They are precisely those who drive them. The timetables can change your day.
So you can leave after the strike ends at 9:17 pm on 8th september, or 7th before 9:18 pm.
There are two other strikes that do not concern you because they are at a regional level for Piedmont and Trentino Alto Adige, there's another union, which is a note from the club for public transport. They are companies that involve Ferrovie del Sud Est and Ferrotramvia that operate in Puglia. If you use the regional trains on the 8th strike affected the entire service, so not 24 hours.
Then consider leaving after 9:17 PM on the 8th or leaving on the 9th. It's not necessary to buy another flight now.
Another thing I can tell you: if you decide to cancel your trip due to the strike, the refund request must be made by 11:59 PM the day before. If you were to cancel after that, it would be a voluntary cancellation with a 20% deduction. While if the train is canceled, the refund is full, even retrospectively.

https://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi

https://www.trenitalia.com/en/information/in-case-of-strike.html
Read carefully what is written inside this link because it gives you all the necessary information which then connects you to the Italian page where there are the tables that I put below.

https://www.trenitalia.com/content/dam/trenitalia/allegati/info/treni-garantiti/TABELLA_A_Treni_garantiti_DPLH.pdf

Thank you for the detailed information on strikes, parties involved and connections to even more information, Since we have a several cities with reservations to consider following our arrival in Bari, we need to be proactive & make our decisions timely.
You've really been helpful!

What type of train are you taking to get to Bari? Not the Company, the service. The most important piece of information is missing here.