Need advice about Schengen visa appointments from Edinburgh

I booked a Naples, Italy trip from 16–23 June from Edinburgh months ago, but I can’t get an Italy Schengen visa appointment anywhere through VFS (Edinburgh/London/Manchester all unavailable).

Some people suggested applying through another Schengen country like Denmark/Sweden/Norway if appointments are available there, entering that country first, then flying to Italy the same day.

Has anyone actually done this? Is it risky for future visas or fairly common?

At this point I don’t know whether to:
\- keep waiting for Italy appointments
\- apply through another Schengen country
\- or give up and sell the trip

Any advice appreciated