1. Bocconi is a decent school, certainly one of the better schools in EU.
2. Lifestyle matters. Not everyone wants to live in Blacksburg. Some want a city like Milan, at least for a period.
3. Yes, EU schools pay less, but in the US you pay for a lot of things that are not publicly provided including healthcare, which can cost a lot. For a family, just the insurance can be about $10K/year.
4. This year some of these candidates may not end up with offers.The US pay can easily be 2-3 times more than EU, if they are from schools like nyu, wharton etc. Money gap like that can easily buy happiness. Yes, there are guys from top school went to Boccoli. But they are from Italy. If they do not speak the language, what is the lifestyle you were talking about ?
It is what we call heterogeneity of preferences. For some, living in large houses in the suburbs with a huge yard is what gives happiness. For others, it is staying in a historic city where every cup of coffee you drink and every pizza/pasta you have will be far more superior to any that you could ever have in the USA is important.
Seriously, it is simply a fact that food is just better in Italy because of the climate and soil and it is impossible to replicate it in the USA. Whenever you want, you could go see original works of the old Masters or hop on a train to Paris or Barcelona. Of course it comes with a severe pay cut and the disadvantages of living in an old rickety city. As I said above, heterogeneity of preferences. To each their own.