Which ATM in Italy?

It probably doesn't matter.
If your bank has an arrangement with an Italian bank, and charges you less if you use their machines, then that is the answer. However only your bank can answer that question.

Most ATM's do not add charges (except for DCC, as below), so it does not matter which. Any "Foreign Use Charges" are added by your bank.

When withdrawing, if it asks if you want to be charged in your currency (US$ or whatever) or Euros, always pay in Euros.
This is the dreaded DCC. It is cheaper to be charged in Euros, your card company does the conversion. If you are charged in US$, the ATM company is doing the conversion, and 101% certain it will cost you more.

The best ATM is usually simply the closest ATM, regardless of the bank affiliation, provided it's not located in a place that seems unsafe due to inadequate lighting or unsavory-looking people around. The basic rule is to not use ATM's at the airport, as they're likely an exchange bureau machine, not a proper bank, and so won't give as good a conversion rate.

Chris's description of the Dynamic Currency Conversion scheme is valid, too, and some restaurants or merchants will give you the option of paying with a credit card and being charged in dollars rather than in euros. As he says, always pick euros when in Europe.

as they're likely an exchange bureau machine, not a proper bank, and so won't give as good a conversion rate.

Its not the machine that decides the conversion rate, its the credit card company (Visa or Mastercard). The ATM owner charges your card company in Euros, so it doesn't matter which machine.
EXCEPT if they try DCC, and offer to charge your card in US$. That is when the ATM owner is doing the exchange, and giving you an inferior rate.

Exchange bureau machines sometimes have a charge to use the machine, which is something different, and applies to everybody, not just those with foreign cards.

In 10 trips to Italy, I’ve used many ATM’s. I have only walked away from 2. One, a privately owned machine, at FCO that I just used to see what the exchange rate offered was. I happily cancelled the transaction. While in the city of Orosei on Sardinia, I went to Intesa Sanpaolo Bank near my hotel. Everything seemed legit until a screen toward the end of my transaction popped up with a 3% fee for a foreign transaction and an additional €3 for using the device. My bank in the USA doesn’t charge FX fees. CANCEL!!!

Because I have been very careful with the credit cards I use as well as the bank, I have never been charged a fee for a foreign transaction or a fee for foreign exchange. I’ve also never incurred an fee from the banks that owned the ATM’s I used. I did succumb to accepting a restaurant check using dynamic conversion when it was the new thing on the block. Once.

For me, I only use ATM's at bank or credit union locations. I don't trust free standing ATM machines, including here in the states. There are plenty of bank ATM around you can trust. More of a security issue.

What Cyn said: "The best ATM is usually simply the closest ATM. . . . " Time is valuable too, especially vacation time.

Many banks in Italy (as in the US) have the ATM inside the bank vestibule. I like to use those, as it is safer. I also like to use them during business hours. First of all because there are more patrons around and usually also a heavily armed guard that observes from his station what is going on (you may not see the guard but there is one in every branch hidden somewhere during opening hours), but also because if the machine eats your card (for example if you enter the wrong PIN twice) you can more easily recover the card when the staff is on site.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I used one on a U.S. military base. It was a Bank of America ATM.

Pretty much any ATM. But its important that your debit card has exactly 4 numbers or it won't work. Most ATMs won't have the typical phone style keyboard that we're used to in the States so you have to memorize the numbers and not rely on a name, (like Mary, for example)

That is false. It is an old urban legend base a little factual information that may have been true 30 years ago. The other legend is that your code cannot start with a zero - also false. Four, five, and six digits work fine. It is true that you must know the numbers if you are using an alpha code. There are no letters on the key pads in Europe.

What Frank says. No rule exists saying that a PIN is only 4 digits long. Many people have 5 or 6. And I have a card with a zero in the first position. Works fine, just like any other.

Steve, check if your bank has an agreement with an Italian bank not to charge you ATMs fees. I know that BofA does with BNP Paribas. We tried to use them when possible without going to extreme lengths. But as others suggested we tried to use ATMs inside of banks during working hours in case something happened.

The better question here is what card should I use vs. which ATM should I use. Get a card with no ATM fees ( they reimburse any charged by machine) and no foreign transaction fees. Charles Schwab is the one I use , but there are others out there as well.

One that WORKS! :) LOL More seriously, find one that is either inside an entrance of a bank or one that faces the North on the side of a bank. If its an out door ATM, I'll stand back a distance and wait till someone else uses the machine first. Believe it or not, some ATMs in Italy still use CRT displays. And a few times we were forced to use one that had sunlight exposure. The only way to tell which buttons to push was to figure out the burn-in/ghosted areas of the screen. :) When you do find a good ATM, stick with that one. This should be close to where you are staying and part of an operating Bank. That way if it eats your card, you can at least get the card back rather easily. Try to take all the money you will need for a day trip ahead of time from this machine.

Thanks everyone for your input. We had a great time in Italy and used the major banks ATM's for our cash. Fair exchange rate and my bank card only charged $1 per transaction.

I'll be flying into FCO then taking a shuttle to my hotel. Is it advised not to use the ATMs at the airport? Is there not a bank at the airport? Thanks.

ATMs in the airport are fine provided they are a bank owned ATM. Some airport have exclusive contracts with the money exchange companies for the ATM. At the moment I don't know what the situation is with the airport. This is one of the reason I always have a hundred euro in my pocket when I land.

Just a warning about using an ATM in Italy and probably ATMs everywhere. I made the mistake to count my money and probably spent a longer time looking at the money than normal. All of a sudden, the ATM card disappeared back into the ATM. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to get the card back. After that experience, I always took the card and then the money. I also tried to find and use an ATM outside a bank during banking hours if at all possible. I figure the bank might be a source of help if it were to happen again.

Traveling in Italy now, and the answer is not just any ATM. Find one associated with an actual Italian bank. I was in Venice a few days ago and the Travel X ones wanted a four Euro fee plus 6% vs. the fair exchange rate of 1.12. The Euronet ATM machines are everywhere but obviously not a charity so I am sure there are also fees. The bank where I eventually procured cash said “visa debit” on the screen so I wondered whether that meant some backdoor fees as a “cash advance” but no, they offered the fair 1.12 rate and my bank charged me their usual $5. Fair enough. Now if I can find one establishment in Italy that takes 50 Euro notes, I’m all set.