Visa

If you are an American citizen, then you get an automatic visa in France, Italy and Spain.

For tourist purposes, as long as you are a U.S. citizen and do not stay more than 90 days combined in the Schengen Zone (of which France, Italy and Spain are a part), no visa is required. If you plan to work or study it is another question.

Each country's embassy website should help guide you through the steps to determine if you need a visa. For example, Italy has this handy tool. CLick on the "Do you need a visa" link and it will tell you. If your citizenship is not U.S. but your residence is, there may be other requirements, for example.

No. You can always check this website..... seems to be accurate.

It is your citizenship, not your country of residence, which decides if you need a visa. And you don't get visas for France, Italy or Spain "from the United States", you get them from the embassy or consulate of the country you wish to visit.

You don't say what your nationality is, so nobody can answer your question completely. It is also not relevant which country you are travelling from.
If you need a visa, France, Italy and Spain are all part of the Schengen Area, and a visa for one of these countries is valid for all 3.

See additional tips at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/travel-documents, although that page does not (yet) address the 3-month limit on visa-free tourist visit to the Schengen region or the similar limit for the UK & Ireland.

In the simplest terms...

If you are a US citizen planning on staying for less than 90 days, then no visa is necessary for France, Italy, Spain or the UK, Belgium, Greece, or any other EU country. You need a passport and then you can go.

If you are not a US citizen, then check with your country. Canadians do not need a visa, either. I can't speak for any other countries.