If I were in your shoes, and you were really serious about these speakers, I would go visit the factory in Maine and listen to these speakers under ideal conditions.
Maine is beautiful in the early Fall, and they have excellent lobsters. If it has been a hot summer in Italy, then Maine makes for a cool getaway.
The Altair demands a huge room that is very well suited to 2 channel audio. I would think the Aquila would sound better in a moderate-sized room than the Altair.
You could also go to Goodwin's, but I think the frequent moving of equipment leads to a less than ideal situation. I also don't care for the Boulder amplifiers.
Rockport is expensive in the US. I can only imagine how much it is in Europe.