I bought 5, flew 2, and successfully received refunds from Alitalia for the three I canceled. Looking back, here are some mostly random observations:

First, Thank you, ROSJ, for the heads up on this wickedly low rate!

Second, nice work Nicolo. The first few times I spoke with you I couldn't determine if you were a jerk trying to be nice or a nice guy who was simply frustrated and over-tasked, but you always did the right thing in the end, no matter how freely you expressed your exasperation. The last few calls you were stellar and in retrospect I am amazed at your professionalism.

Third, AZ would have been better served just treating these like regular tickets. Its normal customer support and normal refund policies would have managed the tickets and lessened aggravation on all fronts.

Fourth, second only to the fare, I like that this "event" caused me to travel to a part of the world I otherwise would not have done. Cyprus was interesting and while it won't make my list of destinations, I would not be opposed to going there again if the rate is right.

Fifth and finally, I enjoyed following this thread even more than I did actually making the voyages.

Cheers (from Bangkok),

FMINYC