Thanks Yvonne,
Sounds like you have found the same problem we have. The local flights in Europe do not fly out of the major transatlantic airports. We flew to Gatwick once then took Ryan Air to Pescara but British customs held us up so we missed the bus and had to take a taxis to Stanstead. The ride was 125 pounds and our air fare was 100 pounds!
We have settled on Canadian Affair to Gatwick then Easy Jet to Rome. It isn't the best as we get into Gatwick at 7 AM and the morning flight to Rome leaves at 8 which means we always miss it. We have to wait around for 8 hours and catch the aftrenoon flight. We only have small carryons now as everything we need is in the house in Carrufo so baggage is no problem.
Easy Jet seems more pleasant than Ryan Air as well. Checkin is no problem and they page us on our cell phones when the plane is ready to board so we have taken the time to explore a bit.
Barry