Originally Posted by KLouis

At FCO the gate agent didn't let me carry, in addition to a, size-wise legitimate carry-on, a really small computer bag*, although they allowed ladies to carry their purse, which were sometimes larger than mine! My complains (very polite) were answered in the sense of "if you don't like our decision you can stay here"!

* No more space than what was needed to cary a small Mac Air and its adaptors/power supply!