I could really use your help. I have never ridden the train system in Italy, much less bought tickets for one.
I will arrive (solo) in Rome around 4:30 pm on American Airline. Need to catch a train to Orvieto to meet my DD, we will then continue on to Florence.
Would you please explain what I must do after arriving Rome. thank you. I would really appreciate your step by step help.

#1. From where and what airline are you flying into Rome? Only the last flight matters. There is no AA flight that arrives at 4:30pm. It may have an AA flight #, but my guess is you are connecting somewhere in Europe like London or Zurich and flying another airline on to Rome.

#2. Find your way to the Rome airport train station. Go to the ticket window and buy 2 tickets

a) Airport to Rome Termini
b) Termini to Orvieto

You don't need to specify any train, but remember to validate each ticket in the yellow machines in the station before you board. (there is a fine if you don't)

#3. Take the Leonardo express to Rome Termini station (the main Rome train station). There are 2 train stations in Rome: Termini & Tiburtina. You can also depart from Tirubrina, and trains to Orvieto will stop there. Don't be confused - just connect at Termini.

#4. Look on the departure board & get on the next train to Orvieto. Find an open seat and take it. No need to reserve a seat in advance.

There are departures 1-2 times per hour. The board may or may not list Orvieto as the destination - it'll list the end/final/major destination of the train, but not every stop along the way. It helps to look up train schedules before you depart home on www.trenitalia.com or www.bahn.de.

#5. It's about 1hr to Orvieto.

Hi katiekate, here is the English language version of the official Trenitalia website.

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

Have a wonderful time in Italy with your daughter!

I'm unclear . . .

Do you plan to continue on that same day to Florence?

Oops, I am arriving Rome at 4:15 p.m. on BA from LHR. (Got confused because I fly AA into LHR from DFW.) Yes, my "plan" is to continue traveling all the way to Florence on the same day unless DD wants to stay a little longer in Orvieto to show me around. You never know..... Would this make a difference ticket-wise? Thank you everyone... I feel so dumb about all this. I appreciate your replies.

rome to florence is fastest by Eurostar (ES) trains which cost considerably more than IC or regional trains that mainly serve Orvieto - thus a Rome - Orvieto Orvieto-Florence train would be cheaper overall than the direct ES non-stop usually Rome-florence trains

You won't get to Orvieto until after 7 or so. Maybe a bit earlier if you luck out at passport control/baggage claim. Maybe later if you don't.

Trains from Rome to Florence take 90min (faster ES trains with no stops), whereas Rome to Orvieto ~1hr, and then Orvieto to Florence 90min.

If your destination is Florence you may be better off just meeting her there. Otherwise consider staying in Orvieto the 1st night where your daughter is familiar with the surroundings.

Very good advise. We just may decide to overnight in Orvieto, besides I will probably need the rest before hitting it hard the next day. Thank you very much.

Have I imagined this or do I remember someone posting here that they took a bus from the Rome airport to Orvieto, avoiding the train trip into Rome, then transferring to another one out? I tried searching here and didn't find it, but that isn't unusual either. I swear I read that somewhere and at the time I thought it made a lot of sense.