Premium cabins are important for airlines' bottom lines. You can score the tickets for relatively little during flash sales or by using miles, but most of the seats are sold to business travelers and high-earning leisure travelers for full price, offering airlines dramatically higher margins than coach seats.
It's important for airlines to get the business-class experience right (and first-class, if they offer it), to attract clients.
Alitalia was a fun, great experience. The food on board was fantastic, and the airline felt representative of its home market, rather than being fairly generic. And, most importantly, the seat and bed were comfortable.
The food in the lounge was sub-par, but I really didn't mind as I saved room for dinner onboard.
I would also caution anyone flying the airline to bring their own entertainment, as I found the inflight system clunky, and it had a relatively poor selection.
Despite those small issues, and its extensive financial difficulties, I felt the airline did a good job, and I wouldn't hesitate to fly it again.