My family consists of wife and (currently 11 year old) son. When we travel AZ around the world, we're resigned to the fact that the general lounge access rule is "+1 guest" (at least in the Skyteam world). (My wife sometimes sneaks in through having a Diners card, but that's another matter).

Anyway, a pleasant exception to this general rule has always been (well, for as long as I've had a 3 person family...) that Alitalia are more flexible and their Italian lounges grant entrance to the whole family, i.e. all 3 of us.

The last time we all flew AZ together out of LIN was at Xmas last year, flying to London. We were granted admittance to a busy Sala Freccia Alata (or the Manzoni...I lose track of the names...the upstairs one) without any problem.

Yesterday, flying to ORD via FCO on an award ticket, the lounge dragon told us that AZ had changed their rule, and now it was strictly plus 1. The wife pulled out her Diners, and was told that with that the three of us could enter the Welcome lounge (the one on the upper ground floor). When we got to the Welcome lounge, we didn't need to show the Diners and were let in without any discussion. Then later on, at FCO, all three of us got into Casa Alitalia on the strength of my Freccia Alata status, again with no discussion.

So I'm not sure if the first lounge lady was bang wrong, or whether the rule has changed and it was simply that the Welcome lounge and Casa Alitalia ladies "closed an eye" (as the Italians say).

This link:
https://www.alitalia.com/it_it/volar...so-lounge.html

says, for Freccia Alata access to Casa Alitalia lounges:
"Ospiti: 1 o partner o figli"

Which is confusing. Why say "1 o partner", when your partner could be the +1? The fact that they mention figli plural implies that it can't strictly be +1. Hmmmm....

Would be good to know for the future, if anyone else knows.