>>>When I compare prices I take into consideration the time driving & the cost to park for 3 weeks (also DH not fond of leaving his car for that length of time).<<<

For that length of time, it's usually cheaper to get a hotel the night before that let's you leave your car.

>>>I have been playing around with flights using the search engines (ita matrix, hipmunk, chepoair, etc) so many of you suggested.<<<

Since Ita powers a lot of those search sites (such as Kayak, hipmunk), I wouldn't bother searching any on their list.

Only Milan, Venice and Rome have non-stop flights to/from the states (Pisa has a seasonal flight from JFK) so if you look at other arrival cities, you will be adding a stop.

Have you considered flying out of Windsor or Toronto? It would be a bit of a drive but could save you hundreds of dollars - possibly even cutting your airfare in half.

I'm also in northern Ohio, and although it's a 4-6 hour drive to get to Toronto depending on traffic, to me the inconvenience is more than worth the savings. As an example, if we had flown to Europe from Detroit last year, only two of us could have gone. By flying out of Toronto, tickets were less than half, so all four of us could go.

Regardless of what you choose, enjoy your trip!

I have come to grips with the cold, hard fact that I'm not going to find a great deal on airfare. I think the best plan is to get the flights that I want from my preferred airport & don't look back! Once I get my flights I can concentrate on planning the rest of our trip. Thanks for all your help.