Flying from UK to Rome

You will need to go through passport control when you enter the Schengen area from the UK.

If there are no direct flights to Rome have a look at flights with BA, KLM or Air France. They will route you through Heathrow, Amsterdam and Paris, respectively. The plus side of this means they have to get you to your final destination if you miss your connection. And the connection time is worked out by the airline.

If you're thinking of multiple flights with low-cost carriers such as EasyJet, Jet 2 or RyanAir - be aware that if you miss your second flight you're stuck.

If you're in northern England have a look at Leeds-Bradford - maybe Birminghman at a push for direct flights to Rome.

If you're still in the planning stage, consider saving Rome for the end of the trip, fly to Rome, and then back to the States from Rome. So you would need to book an open jaw/multiple city transatlantic ticket.

ITA Airways has nonstops from both Gatwick and London City to Rome. It may be easier to go back to London for the flight, as opposed to traveling from smaller airports with multiple hops.

How about flying to Dublin from Liverpool? You will enter the EU at that point. Take a direct flight to Rome from Dublin. Aer Lingus has flights but you have to choose "Multi-city." You wouldn't be on one ticket but if you have enough time in between flights, it shouldn't be an issue.

How about flying to Dublin from Liverpool? You will enter the EU at
that point.

True, but you will have to go through immigration both in Dublin (assuming you do not have a UK or Irish passport) and the Schengen (in Italy).

markcw, what is an open jaw ticket? I am saving Rome for the end. I was going to book a multi-city from DFW to London, then Rome to DFW, and book the UK to Rome separately. Is it possible to include the UK to Rome ticket in with the other one? I see that direct flights from anywhere other than Heathrow are very limited. Maybe it would be better to go back to London on the train and then fly to Rome. Thanks for helping this newbie!

what is an open jaw ticket?

Open Jaw = Multi-city. Industry jargon vs. a more consumer-friendly label.

There actually appear to be almost as many non-stop flights to Rome from Gatwick as there are from LHR. London makes sense in terms of availability of more non-stops, but only you can decide on the logistics of flying from there. If you'll be in Bath, you could only make an afternoon flight out of London. If you wanted to take a morning flight, it would be best to be in London, if not at the airport, the night before. Use "LON" for all London airports in your search criteria when looking for flights.

As to adding another leg to your existing ticket - assuming you're flying American/OneWorld, you would have the option to add a British Airways flight [and others] to Rome as flight #2 out of 3. But for the sake of flexibility, it might be better to keep that flight separate.

If starting in Bath then Easyjet fly non stop from Bristol to Rome daily. Far closer than. trekking to any London airport daily.
Ryanair fly from Liverpool to Rome Ciampino on Monday and Friday

Allow at least 2-3 hours between connecting flights. You likely won't need to go through customs since both countries are in the Schengen Area. Check available flight options and allow sufficient time for layovers. Follow the same advice for connecting flights as above.

Remember to check luggage restrictions, arrive early, and keep travel documents handy.

If I check a bag from the UK to Rome through Amsterdam, will I have to retrieve the bag in Amsterdam and go through security again?

You have been given some good information, and some bad information.

Wherever you enter the Schengen area, you will go through passport control (immigration.) It has nothing to do with the EU. (Some EU countries are not in Schengen and some Schengen countries are not in the EU.) The UK and Ireland are not in Schengen.

So, if you had a connecting flight in Amsterdam (Schengen), you would go through passport control there.

But if you had a connection in London (non-Schengen), you'd go through passport control in Rome.

If you buy the flight on one ticket--not two separate legs--then your bag would be routed directly to Rome. You will go through customs there but that is just a walk through. No need to retrieve the bag at the connecting airport.

Remember passport control/immigration is for you, customs is for your stuff.

The easiest would be the Bristol-Rome flight. Bristol is just a stone's throw from Bath. Or from Bath, it's very easy to get to Heathrow with plenty of flights.