Be sure to bring paper copies of your flight itinerary, airline ticket receipt (with ticket number, to show that your ticket has actually been purchased and is not just a reservation), and copies of hotel reservation confirmations. [It might also be a good idea to bring documents (hard copies) for anything else that you have reserved or prepaid or anything which is a special event during the period of your travel (such as a wedding invitation, if applicable, or opera/theater/festival tickets).] You will probably need these documents to prove immediate travel.

Be prepared to pay for the visa and any rush or special handling fees in whatever method of payment is accepted by the consulate. For instance, do they accept or refuse cash? Credit cards? Require a certified check?

Please report back on what happens.

ADDED: Another idea of something to do today is to try to phone some of the major visa service agencies (you won't use one, I don't think since you're located near the consulate and might need a personal interview) to see what they say about how quicky one can get a schengen visa for Italy given your passport and residency details. Act like your trip is slightly farther in the future (so that you could be a customer of their service) or act like you're considering the purchase of tickets for some last minute trip that suddenly became available to you and wondering whether the visa would be possible. Sometimes FF award ticket availability opens up at the last minute.