Welcome to FT!
When it comes to Italy travel I automatically think of
Slow Travel .They have much info on Italy. Fodor's Italy forum is good on this as well.
I checked Expedia and their cheapest is about the same.
I'd,personally, book with AA and make sure I get the FF miles.
Try Slow Travel, you might find some ideas.
Considering the generic nature of your question,I'll move this to TravelBuzz