Please advise me where in Rome is better to pick-up a rental car: at FCO or somewhere in the city, like at Via Veneto. We will stay in Trastevere and then drive to Pitigliano-Florence.

If Sunday, Via Veneto is good---not much traffic.
If a weekday, I hate to drive in Rome and would train to Orvieto to get the car--not far from Pitigliano.
Do not even think about driving in Florence.

Thank you Bob. Have you had an experience renting car in Orvieto? My main concern that there are no cars with auto transmission. I promise not to drive in Florence.

Hmmm ! The Autoeurope outlet there is Hertz and is across from the station. You can book an automatic but it is not 100% at pickup---your call !

Hi Arikson, I had a good experience renting from one of the Via Veneto rental places. Sunday would be an optimal time, as Bob mentions. Otherwise, any time during the middle of the day when things are too hectic traffic-wise. Going all the way to FCO from Trastevere I think would be quite time consuming.

Arikson, there are many rental locations all over Rome... here's a post with a map and addresses for the major vendors: http://tinyurl.com/car-rome

Yje article also has Chiusi, Viterboo, and Orvieto locations... If you're coming from the US, don't forget your IDP: http://tinyurl.com/Italy-IDP.

And for more info on the ZTL's in Rome (including maps), you might look at this article: http://tinyurl.com/Rome-ZTL

We've lived in Rome for 3+ years and driven daily (on our motorino) and it can be quite challenging - especially if you're not sure where you're going. Getting an Auto Transmission vehicle often requires going to a "larger" location like FCO or Roma Termini. And the markup for AT is sometimes double a manual transmission... Any chance you can practice on a manual before departig for Italy?

We've rented from the AVIS vendor on Via Veneto often - and also out of Roma Termini as both are convenient to our apartment. With a GPS, both locations are fairly easy if you're headed north.. and thus away from the ZTL zones.

Thank you Ron. You are so helpful!