1

Here are some simple tips about looking for information:

1. Research before asking a question. It will help you get better, more detailed and useful answers from the community if you've already done some homework. It's also polite. The community is here to help, but we're not your personal search engine. Invest some preliminary time and we'll help you fill in the gaps.
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Your research, once you do it, will likely tell you that a rail pass won't be worthwhile.

Two weeks sounds like the usual "Big Three"--Rome, Florence, Venice--with a day trip or two thrown in.

Otherwise, until you do that research, I don't know what kind of suggestions you could expect.

2

Yes, agree with above - you need to decide what looks interesting to you first, then we can help out with the details. And really, the last thing you want to consider is rail passes, especially for Italy - unless you're spending hours travelling the length of the country, they're unlikely to be worth the money.

3

I agree with the posters above. The Rome-Florence-Italy route seems to fit your bill.
Or, fly to Naples and spend your time pottering around Mt Vesuvius, Pompeii, and the Amalfi coast.
Or, stay in Tuscany, and explore the region.

4

There are so many 'popular' places in Italy (for tourists,including Italian tourists) that you could easily spend 2 years,not two weeks,going from one to the next.

However the most popular of the popular are undeniably as #1 says...Venice,Rome,Florence (with day trip to Pisa).Probably 90% plus of tourists do that on their first trip to the country....

5

And as Craig and Mike say,you won't need a rail pass for that.....

6

Thankyou for all your help. As I said, I do still need to read the guidebooks and see what I think, but I was just wanting some general advice, which you've really helped with. Apologies clementis_fur_cap for my inexperience; I wasn't expecting anyone to plan the trip for me, but as an inexperienced traveller (and poster on boards) I do appreciate the advice of others.

Thanks to those who suggested that a rail card wouldn't be necessary-that wasn't something that had even crossed my mind! Once I've got a better idea of the route, I might have some more, precise questions!

Thanks again