Euros?

You will need some Euros which is best of you get them from an ATM when you arrive in Italy. Dollars? Would someone from Italy be able to spend Euros in the US? Leave your dollars at home.

US Dollars for sure won’t work, the same way that euros won’t work in the US.

Credit cards and debit cards or other forms of digital payments (like Apple Pay) work in most places, although there might be automatic payment machines (like gas stations, parking lots, etc.) where US issued cards without PIN don’t work. There are also instances where merchants (and especially taxi drivers) might say their POS machines is momentarily out of order and they can only accept cash. It is not necessarily true (taxi drivers use that gimmick so that they can dodge taxes), but if you need a taxi sometimes that is the only option to ride one. Also, sometimes, for very small payments one might find it convenient or necessary to have cash. For example most public restrooms in Italy (Europe) require a payment of 1€ or 0.50€ and it can be paid only in cash. Tips also, if you like to leave any, cannot be added to the credit card and can only be left in cash.

You don’t need to leave the US with euros with you, but it is not a bad idea to withdraw some cash from a Bancomat (ATM), once you are in Italy.

Tips also, if you like to leave any, cannot be added to the credit card and can only be left in cash.

Not specific to Italy, but it's been very interesting to see which countries allow tips to be added into the CC bill. In Germany it's no problem to do so, but elsewhere (e.g., Poland) it hasn't been possible. We have enough euros now to take care of our needs in Italy.

Since 2023 a change in the Italian tax law promulgated on Dec 29, 2022, would permit the inclusion of the tip to the credit card slip, but so far (and I have been in Italy 3 times for a total of 2 months between 2023 and 2024) I haven’t seen a restaurant that has given me a credit card slip with a line for tip. There might be some that come with the POS to your table where you have the ability to select a tip,amount, but so far I haven’t had a chance to see it. Maybe because I avoid restaurants that cater to tourists (especially Americans, who love to leave tips).

Smaller merchants may not accept an AMEX card, so we always have our VISA with us as well. This may be helpful with some ATM tips for Europe. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-machine-atm-tips

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-tips

Roberto gives such great and detailed advice! The place I've regretted not having 1 euro coins is to light up paintings inside Italian churches, will try to remember to get change at a bar (cafe) or just ask at hotel front desk.

You WILL need euros to pay the various city lodging tax as most hotels require these to be paid in cash. As for me, one of my hotels on my upcoming trip gives a 6% reduction for cash over credit cards, I will gladly get them the cash as we are there several nights.

Also coins can be needed to use some public washrooms…….

We arrive usually with 100€ in case of emergency and otherwise rely on our credit cards and ATM. For us the only real cash outlay is to guides.

I used to always get some Euros before a trip. It has gotten so crazy expensive now, I stopped bothering and have been completely fine. Many places are “tap and pay” nowadays, including ticket machines etc. Just be sure to take your money out at an actual bank ATM. Most free-standing ATMs like in the airport are a pretty predatory company and charge outrageous rates. The old school predatory money changing booths just turned into ATMs.

Yes. I forgot to mention the "Imposta di soggiorno" (literally 'stay tax' but often translated in English as "tourist tax"). Many accommodations want to be paid in hard cash for that City tourist tax. It is not mandatory for them to do so, but it is convenient for them because by law the accounting of such tax must be kept separately from the hotel's regular receipts and also they would have to pay a 1%-2% commission to the bank for the card use. Italian law prohibits adding a 2% to the price of the product/service when a card is used, so the hotel may not accept having to pay 1 or 2 cents on the dollar to the bank for money they must pay in full to the City. The problem is particularly felt by those hoteliers' when the payment of the room has been completed on the Booking or other portal. Some hotels accept the payment of the tax on the card in spite of the extra cost, they simply account for that extra cost by charging a bit extra for the room or other hotel services.

As others have mentioned, the need for cash is not as great as it used to be. But there are times when it is still needed. A hundred euros should be enough to get you started.

Many people wait until they arrive to get euros from and ATM. Nothing wrong with that. However, we feel better having some euros in hand upon arrival. We don't have to hassle with finding a machine, hope it works (malfunctions do happen), and do so while jet lagged and one new turf. It used to be that AAA had a "starter pack" that had a various denominations. Or you could get them from your local bank.

Yes it will cost a little bit more to get them here, but it's not much, and nothing compared to the total cost of the trip. And the extra cost is, in our opinion, well worth it for the convenience.

I read somewhere that a credit card and US Dollars was fine

whoever wrote that is wrong. US dollars are useless in Italy