Hello! My husband, 2 year old son and I are traveling to Tuscany this summer. When we did the same trip last summer, we reached Florence via Paris and drove 45 mins to our destination. This summer, going back to the same area in Tuscany and we have decided to fly into Milan or Rome because we had such a terrible experience at Florence's airport with lost luggae, etc.(it was not found and returned for 5 days! The airlines lost EVERYTHING--portable baby crib included.)
Can anyone who has been please let me know which airport is a better recommendation--Milan or Rome, and which is easier to travel to and from by car to Florence. (If I am not mistaken ,the distance between the two and Tuscany is more or less the same, no? Please confirm.) Many, many thanks!

Rome is easier than Milan, but the closest is still Pisa, using a European gateway.

I would agree with Bob. What I don't understand is your rationale that somehow the airport you flew into was the cause of the lost luggage, etc.

Intrepid1-- Florence's airport is FAMOUS for being a nightmare regarding the handling of lost baggage, and the receiving of it. I did not know this myself until my experience, and then, over the course of a month in Italy, many people told/warned/sympathized with us about what had happened.
Lost or missing baggage is reported to the Florence airport offices, (not the airline offices.) Until they find your baggage, you must do a daily confirmation phone call with the airport (not the airlines) to get an update. Then the aiport is in charge of receiving and delivering your luggae (not the airline.) I hope that answers your question re: my rationale.

But don't confuse Pisa and Florence airports. Pisa, which is only an hour further away, is an international gateway; Florence (now closed for renovations) is going to be used in future, so they say, only for national flights.

We have had experience with a Alitalia connection between Malpensa (Milan) and Florence. The planes making the connections are generally smaller and therefore cannot handle the luggage and some pieces are left behind and eventually catch up. This happened to us, we tried calling the lost and found luggage area at the Florence airport. Phone was always busy. We finally on the third day took a cab to the airport and were astounded to see the area where the luggage is kept. I'm sure there were literally a hundred pieces just lying around. We found ours and taxied back to Florence. This happens all the time.