Huge crowds swarmed to the Marco Simone course for the early-morning start and the majority supporting Luke Donald's Europe were richly rewarded with some spellbinding golf.
Spain's Jon Rahm and partner Tyrrell Hatton lit the blue touchpaper with a 4&3 victory over world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and rookie Sam Burns.
"Extremely satisfying," Rahm said. "I had a good feeling about Tyrrell all along. It was good to come out here and see him perform the way he did.
"It was an incredible foursome match and we played as confident as two people could play."
Not long after they put the first point on the board on the 15th hole, Scandinavian duo Viktor Hovland and debutant Ludvig Aberg followed suit with a 4&3 defeat of British Open winner Brian Harman and Max Homa.
The US - bidding to retain the trophy but who have not won in Europe for 30 years - appeared powerless to resist.
Around 45,000 fans are expected for each of the three days and many of them waited patiently on the scenic par-four 16th - one of many spectacular holes on a course just east of Rome.
After the first two matches ended on the 15th, they finally got to see some action as Americans Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa offered some resistance against Ireland's Shane Lowry and Austrian Sepp Straka.
But Lowry and Straka made it 3-0 to Europe as they ended the contest on the 17th for a 2&1 victory.
Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood completed the rout by inflicting a first foursomes defeat on Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
Schauffele and Cantlay - who had boasted a 5-0 record in foursomes - won the 14th to halve their deficit and looked almost certain to get back to all square on the next following a wayward McIlroy drive.
However, Cantlay charged his birdie putt four feet past, Fleetwood holed from 20 feet to scramble a par and Schauffele then missed his par attempt.
The American duo did win the 16th with a birdie but McIlroy hit a superb tee shot to within three feet on the 17th and Schauffele, knowing he had to make his birdie attempt from 20 feet to have any chance, inexplicably left it short.
Fleetwood was left with the simple task of tapping in to complete a 2&1 victory and round off a barely believable opening session for the European team.
"It's been an unbelievable session," McIlroy said.Â
"We switched the format this year to go foursomes first because statistically that's our better session.
"And all week all we've been talking about is getting off to fast starts. Playing three-hole matches in practice, three holes, go again, three holes, go again, something that Luke's drilled into us.
"We were ready to go from the first tee shot as obviously as you can see in how everyone played."
- with PA
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