Jetting to Italy from Washington, D.C., just got a little easier: Italian airline Alitalia launched nonstop flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to Rome Thursday. Alitalia will offer direct flights between Virginia's Dulles International Airport and Rome's Fiumicino International Airport five times per week on the Airbus A330-200, which carries 249 passengers.

Flights from Dulles will leave at 4:15 p.m. and arrive at 7 a.m. the next day in Rome – an almost 9-hour flight. Flights from Rome will take 10 hours, departing at 9:30 a.m. and arriving at Dulles at 1:30 p.m. "Alitalia’s newly announced year-round service to Rome further enhances the connectivity and choice available for business travelers and tourists on both sides of the Atlantic," Jack Potter, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said in a statement.