Basic questions about the Italian rail system
 

I'm trying to buy train tickets between Rome and Pescara on the Trenitalia website.
I'm a little confused on whether buying a ticket for a specific departure time guarantees me a seat or whether there's another step involved.
Also, I've heard that the quality difference between first and second class usually doesn't justify the price differential.

Can anyone help educate me? :confused:

If you proceed in your booking you will have to choose a seta.That guarantees you a seat.Buying on line won't give you a ticket but a code that you have to show to the ticket controller(or whatever's called!).Depending on when you have to go you might get some offers.From mid June there are going to be more trains and offers(summer schedule:they want to kill AZ I guess!)
Be aware that there arre only regional trains and they leave from Roma Tiburtina and not Roma Termini(you can take a metropolitan train from Termini to Tiburtina though).On regional train there's just 2nd class.and anyway you are right it doesn't change much between 1st and 2nd class.
hope this helps

On some trains, there are "guaranteed" seats in the sense that your seats are reserved. These trains are usually fairly new Eurostar trains. BTW, if you have a chance to ride one, it's a great experience! On those, you are given a specific seat on the train. On other non-Eurostar train, you have a seat but it's not any specific seat. Those are usually smaller, regional trains where it's first come first serve and the difference between 1st and second class is even more blurry.

That's not true. You can have a reserved seat in IC(Intercity) and CIS(Cisalpino).Some seats are reserved some are not,usually from 71 to 86 on ICs are not.Unfortunately there's no such a service from Rome to Pescara.No reservation of seats on regional trains (R). and again no 1st class on regional trains

Where is Roma Tiburtina station located and how far is it from Roma Termini?

Thanks.

It's really close if you go by train (regional),6 minutes,or metropolitan train(not the subway,it leaves from Termini,more or less the same ride time).By ground transportation(not trains!) it depends on traffic jam,usually heavy in the Termini area,so I wouldn't recommend it.