re: Getting around in Italy

trenitalia.com is the Italian rail website. When we went last year I booked well in advance and got one way tickets from Milan Centrale to Monterosso (Cinque Terre) for 9 euro. It was non refundable/non changeable but we made it no problem. Had our flight been delayed we would have had to buy tickets there at a much higher cost.

if you are planning on buying tickets in Italy, I recommend playing around on trenitalia.com so you can familiarize yourself with how they operate. I bought most tickets on their kiosks in the stations for the shorter journeys.