Return flight to US-logistical benefits FCO or MXP from CT?

For my tastes, I'd remove days from Florence and add them to Bologna. Pisa could be seen as a day tour. Or go to the Ferrari or Maserati headquarters. Bologna also has a good airport for connecting to trans-Atlantic flights through a gateway city.
What or where is CT?

Milan versus Rome thoughts: Both are around 4-5 hours by train from the Cinque Terre, so there is probably no logistical advantage for either. You will probably have an early morning flight from either, which will require you to spend a night in either Rome or Milan (probably near the airport). Depending on where you are traveling from, I have seen some very good airfares to Milan (cheaper by several hundred dollars versus Rome). Have you looked into flights from Florence?

Personally I have never seen a site for open jaw ticket alerts. Secondly, my personal opinion, the airfare alerts are over rated. I have never had the airfare alert work very effectively. Personally I would opt for Rome since the airport is about 30 minutes from downtown. I would rather spending an evening in Rome than an evening around the airport in Milan.

jill,

My usual preference is Milan as it's fairly easily connected from the Cinque Terre. Which of the five C.T. towns are you planning to stay in? Spending your last night in or at least near Milan would probably be a good idea, as that would avoid any "transportation delays".

I wouldn't bother spending one night in Pisa / Lucca. Waste of time and a nuisance. You can easily do both as a day trip from Florence. One night in Bologna also won't allow much time for a "foodie tour" as by the time you arrive from Venice it will be mid-afternoon and you'll only have one evening there. Hardly worth the effort. As a general rule, try to avoid one night stops.

A few thoughts about staying in Milan.....

• If you stay near the Duomo and take the Malpensa Express from Milano Cadorna station, the trip is only about 35 minutes. Very easy! There are lots of restaurants and shops along Via Dante, so that would be a pleasant way to spend your last night.
• You could also spend your last few days in Stresa on Lago Maggiore, as it's easy to get to MXP from there via Gallarate.

Thank you for your thoughts....
I like to receive the flight alerts just to watch trends....we won't be purchasing airfare for a few months, but it's interesting to me to see deviations. I ran across a fare for this September, round trip Ny-Milan for $800....flights into Venice and out of Milan or Rome have been hanging around $1350. We would rather fly directly into Venice, but if timing is right and we can avoid an overnight stay in Milan upon arrival, the savings seem worthy of consideration.

Our plan is to leave Venice late afternoon by train to Bologna. The parm/ balsamic/ham tour my husband is interested in starts at 0700 the next am, and we would then be on our way to Florence that evening. We have a few day trips from Florence we would like to do-cooking class, winery tour, maybe trip through the hills on Vespas... Just going to go with the flow.
Our stop in Pisa/Lucca will be on the way to CT...arrive in Lucca in the early evening, spend the night, explore a bit the next day, then onto CT. Which town in CT is still undecided. Perhaps we can do this just as easily from CT? Will have to review travel times again.
I know one night stops are not popular, but we plan to travel light.
I have not thought about departing from Florence....will check out that option.
Thank you all!

I also would take a night off of Florence, and I love Florence, and add it to Bologna. Bologna is a city that needs a couple of night in my mind. June, although muggy, has lots going on at night in Bologna. The films in Piazza Maggiore are a lot of fun.

Ken,
I like your idea of spending our last few days in Stresa on Lago Maggiore, as well! Might be the perfect solution! :)

About the Vespas...don't get your hearts set on renting them until you make sure that you can drive them where you want to go and use whatever driver licenses you have. In addition you need to know about International Driving Permits, insurance requirements for Italy, etc. Googling something like "renting scooter/motorino Italy" should provide lots of info for you.

You don't say where your home airport is and that info would help us give you better advice.

You could do:
Fly to VCE
Venice > Bologna > Florence > Pisa/Lucca > Cinque Terre.
After the Cinque Terre it doesn't matter much if you choose Rome or Milan for returning home. Both are about equidistant from the Cinque Terre, so I would choose the option with the better price, unless of course you want to include Rome in your itinerary.
One option could be to return from Genoa (GOA), which is closer to the Cinque Terre. Both AirFrance and Lufthansa fly from GOA to Paris CDG and Munich MUC respectively, therefore that is an option if you use either airline.
If you fly to MXP coming directly from North America your flight will likely arrive in the morning, therefore giving you more than enough time to take a train to Venice.

If you are coming from NYC area, definitely take advantage of the super cheap flights to and from Milan.
Venice is only 2 1/2 hours from Milano Centrale and there are trains every half hour between 11 am to 1 pm, then every hour. Direct flights from NYC will land in the morning. Depending on passport control, time collecting luggage and the train to Centrale, it will be about 2 hours to get there after your plane lands.

Our home airport is CMH (Columbus, OH). Round trip to Milan at this point is much less expensive than open jaw flights into VCE and out of MXP or FCO....flights from Florence are longer with more layovers....will check Genoa, but knowing our travel tolerances, the more direct the flights are, the better! :)
Thanks for the head's up on Vespa riding....if we do this, it will be with a small tour group, but I will now certainly inquire about driving permits, etc before reserving.
I learn so mNy things from all of you as I read through old (and new) posts....your information and time are greatly appreciated!
And by the way......is there any harm in validating every train ticket we use, whether it breeds it or not?! I am hoping the trains are easier to use once we are there, but I figure if we validate everything, we'll at least avoid those fines! 😊