Good to hear it worked out ok. Sounds like the hotels in Italy just need to submit the information from your passport. Name, #, country, exp date, etc. - this is a good example of how a copy of the passport could come in handy even if it's not a legal ID.

It's often suggested here on Fodors and elsewhere that the pp copy could facilitate getting a replacement passport. Did it help, or was the consulate not interested in the info? Just curious.

Thanks for posting the update - good to know how it worked out in case we ever run into similar problems.