If your coffee is tasting watery, you probably need to increase your brew ratio. For a drip coffee, you want to be in the range of 1:15-1:18 depending on the bean and personal preference.

If your issue is the body/texture of the coffees here, you might prefer a brew method that doesn’t involve paper filters. Something like a moka pot or a french press would be a cheap way to dip your toes into this, and a moka pot brew with water added is probably the cheapest way to get something close to an Americano, which is what I assume you mean by black coffee.

Also, you’re going to see people recommending that you buy specialty coffee from a local roaster, but I don’t think that should be the first move you make if your goal is recreating your experience in Italy. American third wave coffee has a tendency towards highlighting origin characteristic and bright tones, which don’t lend themselves toward getting the result I think you’re looking for. If you want a roast-forward flavor profile, try using a mass-produced Italian supermarket brand like Illy or Lavazza.

Personally, I’m usually making a cortado with a bit of a longer ratio (1:2.5) to get more punchy fruit flavors out of my roasts. But if I’m evaluating a new bean/tweaking my roast, I’ll also brew on a V60/Orea V4 so that I can get a bit more flavor separation and nuance. Also since it’s summer, I’ll sometimes do a Japanese iced coffee in the afternoons.