Flying on ITA San Francisco to Bari with a short connection (1 hr 15 min) at FCO. My questions are: 1) Is it best (i.e. faster) to take a carry-on or check my luggage straight through SFO-Bari? 2) I know I will need to go through Passport Control. The best I can tell there are two functioning terminals at FCO. It looks like ITA international flights use Terminal 3 and domestic flights use Terminal 1 but this is not clear based on my search. Does anyone know the distance between the two terminals? Thanks.

Personally, I would carry on with such a short connection. If your originating flight is delayed, your luggage may not make it even if you do.

It has been a while since I've been to FCO. Airport websites are so interactive you may even get estimated time as well as distance maps

All monetary risk is on ITA if they issued a combined ticket, i.e. a single booking number for both legs. If not, and you carry the risk of missed connections, your best hope is to have only carry-on or book a later flight to Bari. 1 h 15 mi sounds sounds borderline even with only carry-on.

How soon is this trip? If months from now, flight times may change.

When is the next non-stop ITA flight to Bari in the event the SFO flight is delayed and you miss the connection? It looks like most of ITA's later flights to Bari are not direct.

Although this is considered a "legal" connection, that designation is cold comfort if things don't go to plan. FWIW, I'd do carry-on only and be prepared to move fast.

Thanks for responding. The next non-stop Rome-Bari is 5:30 pm - 4 hours later. Not terrible all things considered.
Any idea about the terminal question? I agree about the carry-on being the best choice assuming I will not be running a long distance to catch my connection. Fingers crossed.