I've been following the Italy related threads on this forum, this post was one last attempt to gather whatever information I could.
I just acquired a stack of new TCI maps, they look really good. They took a month to get here from Italy after I ordered them online, so I guess that's my introduction to the pace of life in Italy!
I've been trying to study Italian using a computer program called the Rosetta Stone, we'll find out how well it worked when I get there. I also intend to carry a phrase book and use it.
My plan for Cinque Terre was to cycle through the National Park on the little windy roads that bypass the towns, stay in a campsite at one end or the other of Cinque Terre, and take a day to walk through the towns.
My plan for Pisa was to stay in Lucca, take a train into Pisa to see the sights, then come back to Lucca. Looking at the TCI map it looks like cycling into Pisa would entail cycling through a fair bit of urban sprawl, which I don't want to do.
I agree with Spinnaker,I will be booking accommodation in advance in Milan and Florence, otherwise I will probably wing it as Koffee suggested. I will probably use phone cards instead of a prepaid cell phone, unless cell phones are just ridiculously cheap.
I've heard mixed reviews about wild camping in Italy, I'll just see how things are when I get there. Trangias are hard to get in the US, so I'm getting an MSR Superfly, which runs on different types of gas canisters. It will apparently accept both the Camping Gaz cartridges and the threaded Coleman/MSR thingies.
Many thanks to all 3 of you for the information, it will all be used in my plans! If anyone else has anything to add, please post it.