Cannot comment on Alitalia - except to say that no matter what airline you fly be sure you have at least one change of clothing and some undies in you carryon.

Every regular (non-budget) airline allows one carry-on (be sure to check the size - EU is often smaller than US) and a personal item (purse, briefcase etc.) budget airline often aloow next to noting - for either carry-on or checked.

If you want to check all you luggage you have to take very little, wash it a lor and wear the same things many times. If I am going for more than 3 days (which is a business trip) I always take a checked bag - since I do NOT wash clothes by hand, need multiple changes of clothes and we go out for a pleasant, if not special dinner every night, so ned several going out to dinner outfits. I know many people here think stuffing everything in one carry-on is a benefit - but since I don;t deal with the luggage - cab drivers and bellmen do - I don;t need to stick to a carry-on.

Most people do not carry large amounts of cash. Many get $100 or so of euros in their departure airport to have a little on hand at landing. They usually pull from ATMs once they arrive. the problems are:

How much you need in total
How much your bank will allow you to pull in any one day (if you need a lot more than the $500 or so most allow - then arrange that for advance)
Many local ATMS also have daily limits 0 but these can usually be avoided b pulling case fom several different ATMs

I would ask the apartment renter if they 1) have any other payment option (PayPal? wire transfer?) or 2) if they will take payments over a couple of days as you can pull from ATMs.

You cannot depend on old posts about Alitalia. They are no longer a government corporation (like the Post Office) but a private company. Some of the flight attendants still feel entitled, but the ground staff and aircraft are excellent. My recent experience is based on BOS-FCO-BOS in November. We left on time, arrived early, had decent if not wonderful food, reasonable wine, and not enough coffee for breakfast

We arrived on a holiday, so luggage took a long time to get to the terminal, but everything was there.

Have no info about Alitalia.

The only time I've seen a purse counted as a carry on is out of London. I don't think they count it as a carry on in Boston, Pisa or Rome.

My wife did 9 days in Italy with a carry on. Roll your clothes and wear your heavy stuff on the plane.

Re euros: What nyt said.

It's not uncommon for apts. to want the balance in cash on arrival. You may have a problem getting that large an amount out of an ATM all at one time. Explain the problem to the rental agent and ask if it's OK to spread the payments out over a few days, so that you can withdraw smaller amounts out of the ATM, as nyt suggested.

Re: clothes and packing. If you are in an apartment, will you have access to a washing machine ? You can then use that to wash clothes... pack similar colors/tones and do a load every night.

For me, that is one of the great benefits of an apartment. Do I really see the same people that might notice I'm wearing a black shirt again ? And do they really care ?

If you need special 'going to dinner' clothes... if they are only worn for dinner, can't they be worn again without washing ? How much sweating did you really do ?

I'm a carryon only devotee. I hate checking bags. I hate the waiting and the stress of "will it make it " ? I've learned to pack light (altho chargers and cameras are the death of me). Do some searching and you will find some threads on here (put "packing list" "pack light" "carry on" in the search box)

We travel for a month with only carry-on. My husband and I have a motto...you pack it..you carry it. There are laundromats all over.

As for the weather in Florence in March...it can be cold and rainy or warm and nice. This year it was cold and rainy.

We fly once or twice a year to Europe. We have taken many different airlines. I have upgraded Alitalia to IFFY. It is the only airline we have ever had problems with. As of now I will still not make a reservation on it. We had taken Air France in March/April when the volcano erupted. On our return we were not able to fly through Paris so they re-routed us on Alitalia/AirOne which was able to fly over Spain/Africa and then over the ocean. My husband had checked his luggage because he had wine. The flight wasn't bad, food wasn't good (compared to Air France) and his luggage arrived...even with a change of planes in Boston...in one piece.

As of now, would I recommend it, no. If you have a ticket on it, hope for the best. Chances are it will be ok. Hope you don't have to deal with customer service.

look11,
I think you should pack expecting them to lose your luggage although there is only about a 2% chance of them losing it and the great majority of lost bags are found within 48 hours.

I would bring food, maybe breakfast bars, just in case. On my Alitalia flight last year only the roll and cheese were identifiable as food.

ATMs (bancomats) are the easiest and cheapest way to get euro.
Check with your bank to verify your limit is high enough to cover the amount you want, if not, ask them to raise the limit. On joint accounts sometimes the limit is per card not account so two cards could each take out the limit on the same account.
Open another account to increase the amount you can withdraw. It is also a good idea for a backup. Look for the best deal for this new travel account. See http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange
You want a low(or Zero) foreign transaction fee and a low or zero charge for out of network fees. Italian banks will not charge you for using their bancomats.
On the back of your ATM or debit card you need a Visa - Plus or MasterCard - Cirrus symbol.
The Italian bank ATM may have a transaction limit (the amount you can pull out at one time), usually between 250 and 500 euro, but you can perform multiple transactions until you reach your bank's daily limit.
When you get there ask your apartment owner where is the nearest bancomat? The owner will probably walk you to it so you will not be carrying a lot of cash long.

A couple of hints for ATMs... Only use an ATM physically attached to a bank. They are the safest. As mentioned above we have two separate banks and cards. Both large banks. I put the same amount in each bank. If one bank card doesn't work I try the other one. This last trip I had that exact problem. We have used this bank ATM many times with no problem. It didn't work this time with the card we use the most. I used the other bank card...it worked.

I forgot to add....>>>2% chance of them losing it and the great majority of lost bags are found within 48 hours<<< Not necessarily Alitalia. When they lost our friends bag it took two different hotel owners and the insurance company to get the bag and it met us a week later. If it wasn't for them we never would have gotten the bag.

Once again, thanks for the great information! Our tickets are booked so I will just have faith with Alitalia. If I can avoid checking I will. THe last time I flew with them in 2002, they lost my husband's bag and it took 5 days to get it.

I am mentally prepared for cold rainy weather, so anything else will be gravy

I hope you are feeling better, look. One thought regarding cold weather clothes and packing. If you wear a long sleeve Tshirt under your good looking sweater the sweaters will or should stay clean and the Tshirts can be washed as needed with ease. I so agree with Ann 1 regarding how she handles the ATM issue. That is very good advice.