Trenitalia, the Italian National railway company is a growing nightmare.
Types of connection that were once treated as equal, such as "Eurocity" and "Intercity", are now treated as different: this even though they still come with the same price, speed, quality of wagons and number of stops and are virtually indistinguishable to the traveler (Please note: Trenitalia already offers at least seven different types of trains and tariffs.)
So they told me that "Eurocity" now wants a mandatory reservation on any ticket, but the traveler can avoid to stamp the ticket before boarding the train. Instead if you happen to take the "Intercity" or the "Intercity plus" (same train with new wagons) which would happen because you are taking it, say, at 6PM instead than 5PM, the reservation is optional, but to stamp the ticket is still mandatory with or without reservation.
It must be noted that until a while ago both kind of trains needed a "supplement" with the regular ticket, so that you had two different tickets to stamp: and the fact that the "supplement" has now been abolished, finally gulped by the main ticket, is bragged by Trenitalia as a "simplification". Not at all as the necessary step to be taken for the new 2006 big increase of the tariffs.

"I have to take the intercity," I explain to the man behind the counter at the station of Venice, "should I make the reservation or not?"
"Not really. You can sit at the numbers from 71 to 86 of every coach, we now advice passengers that we never reserve those seats."
This is supposed to make up for the fact that Trenitalia cannot pay anymore for someone to put small paper signs above any seat to indicate whether the seat is reserved or not.
"But this way those compartments will always be crowded even when most of the others are deserted. This is not a good advice. Who write this stuff anyways?"
"Most likely those at the office for the complication of simple affairs" the man answers seriously.

This was an old Italian joke, but outdated. The main sexual drive of Trenitalia isn't complication anymore, it is sadomasochism.
End of the rant, puff.