Upvote:-1
The first thing I will suggest is to reach out to customer service and explain very politely the situation, they can give you a refund of your money for one ticket. Play up the student angle.
https://www.alitalia.com/en_us/special-pages/my-experience.html
Additionally you can contact them on Twitter with a very concise post. Theyβre sensitive to Twitter because itβs public.
https://mobile.twitter.com/alitalia/status/765847690391482368?lang=en
Upvote:21
You can't take any legal action against the airline because you were correctly denied boarding.
Your itinerary crossed though two airports in the Schengen area, so you would have needed a regular Type C short-stay Schengen visa to go through immigration in Rome, and exit immigration in Paris. Even a transit visa would not be enough.
If your itinerary had been only through one airport in the Schengen area, you would not have needed to pass through immigration and you would not have needed a visa.
You might be able to make a complaint to the consulate, as it is clear that they gave you incorrect information. They should have known that you would need a visa for the itinerary you described in your email.