hello, I am trying to figure out how i can travel from the north to the south in steps without a car. I am starting in Brescia, at the home of a friend, and I had hoped on being able to visit Perugia, and perhaps a little town in Campania before I arrived at my destination in Calabria (where I will rent a car).
It seems like there are no direct trains to Perugia, and finally to campania, there are buses, but they don't move on Sundays. Is anyone well versed in the Italian travel system?

You are right that there are no direct trains to Perugia. But you can get an ES train, followed by a regional train with only a change in Florence. There are ES trains leaving Milano Centrale at 9am and 11am on Sundays with changes in Florence of about 20 minutes each. See Trenitalia for full details.

Florence is a very easy station to change in, given that there are no stairs between platforms. This is the method I would recommend.

There is a direct bus from Milan to Perugia which runs over a Saturday night, arriving in Perugia at about midnight. Here are the details, in case you hadn't already found it.

I am not sure about train and bus connections to the south. However I know there is a direct bus to Calabria, because my cousin's girlfriend takes that route regularly. It is very VERY long though. You would have to enquire at the bus depot in Perugia to find out the timetables.

In general, bus services in Italy are very localised and it is very hard to find out timetables and routes unless you enquire at the local bus depot. Even then, bus timetables are developed around work and school times for locals, rather than timetables which are suitable for tourists. For longer trips and inter-regional travel, trains are generally the best option.

Anyway, hope this helps. Enjoy Perugia - the travel guide in my signature should help!

Buon viaggio, Claire.

There is also a direct IC train from Milano to perugia, but unfortunately it leaves at about 6 pm from Milano and arrives in Perugia at about midnight. From Perugia there are a number of trains that travel directly to Rome, whence you can change to a train to Naples. Yet, I suggest you rent the car either directly in Perugia or in Naples because if you are subsequently headed to a "little town", getting there and from there to Calabria may not be the fastest or most comfortable trip of your life.