transportation

I went to the RailEurope website to check. An Italy rail pass would be a "National Pass". Quoting from http://www.raileurope.com/about-us/raileurope-rail-policy.html?page=3 it says:

"Eurail Global passes, Eurail Select Passes, Eurail Regional and National Passes are refundable only if totally unused and unvalidated and received within one year from the issue date. Six months for the BritRail pass. [...] All refunds are subject to minimum 15% cancellation fee. [...] Saverpasses, Twin passes and Party Passes are not refundable if partially used. Validated and partially used passes are non refundable."

Hope this helps! While I am at it, though... how does your travel agent intend for you to get around Italy if the trains are on strike? I guess maybe rent a car.

As to whether or not they are prone to strikes, sadly both Italy and France are notorious for that, but usually the strikes are often one-day protests.

While it may be true that an Italian Rail Pass is really not worth the money, to advise a client to not buy a railpass because the Italian Transport System may be on strike is rather dim-witted in my opinion.

It is also unwise to get an Italy pass because point-point tickets are quite inexpensive in Italy. A pass usually doesn't pay. For instance, riding on a premium Italian Eurostar train requires a "passholder supplement" of about $20. That is often half the price of a bought-the-night-before Amica fare.

I am supporting Tim today. That is a STUPID statement get a new travel agent. I am willing to bet that she has never been to Europe. Strikes happen but not daily. Over the last 15 years, 300+ days of travel in Europe, mostly in summer months 'cause we are in education, we have encountered one strike in Spain. Shifted to the bus for that day and were fine. Maybe we are just lucky.

It may be unwise to buy Italian rail passes but mainly because point to point are so cheap that it hard to make a rail pass pay. And the need to pre-purchase ticket is low also.

I think that we are misinterpreting Sara's question, or at least it is technically garbled. A pass is undefined until you activate it, and true, if you were to activate one day, a strike the next, you would essentially lose a day of a consecutive pass or more, however strikes tend to be very short (a day usually). Her point about "prepaid tickets" makes me think she is talking about normal prepurchased point to point tickets, referring to them as a pass. If this is the case...I am not certain...but suspect that possibly, Yes, you may be out the ticket. While the Italian train system is known for strikes, they are infrequent, announced ahead of time, and short. I do support the notion though that Italian train tickets are best purchased in Italy, at the most a few days ahead, regardless of the threat of strikes.

Thank you all for your information and advise. You have given me a solid foundation to go forward with plans for my trip.
Sara