When I want to talk Italy, there's no one I would rather rattle on with than my friend Joe Brancatelli. As we're both often traveling or working feverishly on our writing and businesses, these conversations are often virtual. Joe loves to refer to himself as simply "your Average Joe Business Traveler." That's because in 30 years as a journalist and publications consultant (he's helped create, launch or reposition more than 100 newspapers and magazines), he's "logged countless miles, spent way too many nights in mediocre hotels, wasted far too many hours in airline clubs and drunk far too much bad coffee." He created Joesentme.com, the exclusive, nononsense, non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Members get access to real-time travel news and advice and Joe's "tell it like it is" commentary on life on the road. Something tells me though that although Joe hems and haws, he really enjoys all of that business travel, if only to rack up the airline miles to take him to his favorite city on Earth -- Rome. And let me tell you, Joe knows Rome. When I recently dared to stay at the Hotel Raphael without consulting Joe, he scolded me because he could have saved me a horrible stay if I had asked his advice. I won't make that mistake again. I recently caught up with Joe to pick his brain about the Eternal City and don't worry, Joe didn't hold back on his opinions.

DOI: For how many years have you been visiting Rome and what's the biggest change since you first visited (besides the crowds and chain stores)?

JB: The first time I went to Rome was 1994. I actually avoided Italy because I thought Italy was like the goofy Italian-American neighborhood where I grew up in Brooklyn. I figured, why go there? Needless to say, I was wrong and I knew it the first afternoon I walked in Rome. Rather than it being a clone of my old neighborhood, it was, of course, nothing like what Italian- American kids think. And, the more I go to Italy, the more I learn about how the mostly Mezzogiorno Italians who came to America got to be the Italian- Americans they became.

As for what has changed about Rome in the subsequent 13 years, well, sadly, Rome (and most of urban Italy) is homogenizing. And not because of any terrible thing that tourists have done. Young Italians want to be Europeans and they want for Italy and for Rome what young Londoners want for London or young Parisians want for Paris. Unfortunately, what all young people want is often the homogenized modern culture.

A Roman woman I know who spent about a decade in London is thrilled by all the Eurostyle bars and nightspots and restaurants that are popping up in Rome. That's the stuff I dislike the most. But she says (in Italian, of course): Hey, why can't I have what I had in London. So, sadly, Italy is becoming part of Europe and that will drive off some of the things that visitors like most about Rome: the family shops run by several generations; the afternoon closings; the places that serve regional cuisine; the artisans with workshops on prime streets; etc.

DOI: I'm often asked my favorite place in Italy and I always say Rome. I explain it as the combination of big city vibrancy and ancient ruins. How do you put it into words?

JB: Well, first, for me, I have a unique reason for loving Rome: It's the only place in the world where I worry about neither the hotels nor the national flag carrier. After all, Rome doesn't have truly great hotels (although they are improving) and no one in his or her right mind would take Alitalia seriously. So alone among the places in the world, I don't feel as if I have to poke my head into every hotel and interview all the airline executives. I can go to Rome and be a traveler, a visitor, without feeling that I have to report on the lodging and airline sector for my readers.

Otherwise, though, I love Rome over every place else because I'm an urban kid and Rome is simply a remarkable urban environment. There are great neighborhoods, great museums, great markets and, despite all the tourists, you don't feel overwhelmed by the visitors. When you're in the Campo dei Fiori or Piazza Navona, there are as many Romans as visitors. Rome is the only large city in Italy where the tourists become part of the streetscape without dominating it.

DOI: I know that you have some definite opinions about hotels. Care to share them with our readers? Maybe two or three to absolutely consider and two to avoid.

JB: Roman hotels, like hotels in most Italian cities, have two problems: They are in old buildings, virtually all of them landmarks of some kind, and they are staffed by Italians. Almost all the Roman hotels I've been in are workarounds. As charming as it may be to stay in a 17th century palazzo, you wish the bathroom worked every day. And Italians, as even the Italians will tell you, are wonderfully mercurial. They are warm and loving and friendly. But consistency isn't their strong suit. So a hotel that is offering exquisite service on Sunday morning is miserable on Monday morning because (soccer teams) Lazio or Roma lost to Juventus. Or because the head of housekeeping had an argument with the family.

Hotels in Rome I like? Well, if you want to be at the top of the Spanish Steps, the Hotel de la Ville is a good alternative to the Hassler next door. And if you get a room with a terrace, you'll get a wonderful view of the city. And I like the Santa Chiara, right behind the Pantheon. It's friendly and less silly than the hotels around the Piazza della Rotondo. Must to avoid? Hotel Raphael, mainly because it is the most erratic hotel in Rome. Everyone falls in love with the location and the ivy on the walls, but it's 50-50 that you'll have a miserable stay.

But I know what you want me to say here: That the best hotels in Rome are at the airport. And it's true. The Hilton Rome Airport and the Hilton Garden Inn Rome Airport are new builds, the only ones built in Rome in a generation. So that means at least the plumbing and the electricity work every day. Needless to say, I don't recommend people stay at the airport for a visit to Rome, but I've never recommended the airport hotels to someone who has then been disappointed. Having everything mechanical work as expected in Italy is an odd pleasure.

DOI: I know you usually rent an apartment. Can you recommend a good agency to use and which neighborhoods you favor (heck, tell us the apartment you love if it is listed online)?

JB: Well, I think any neighborhood in centro storico is fabulous. My wife and I have spent a lot of time in centro and every cluster of two or three streets is unique. Every few streets has its own core of restaurants, museums, churches, shops and alimentari, so it's like a different place. For me--and this is strictly a personal choice--the prime area is the triangle created by the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele, the Ponte Sisto and the Ponte Cavour.

The apartment my wife and I lived in for six weeks last year is called Rome is Home. It's owned by a wonderful couple who lived in it until they had a child and bought a house. It's the only thing they rent and it was once their home, so it was remarkable. But I also like the Palazzo Olivia. The owner, Stefano Sbordoni, converted his family's place into seven one- and two-bedroom apartments. It's perfectly located, a block from the Piazza Navona and a half-block from Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

DOI: Is there a restaurant you can't wait to go to when you visit Rome? Can I coax the name out of you...

JB: Well, you know, my wife and I have dozens of favorites, sometimes just for one dish. But when pressed, we usually say we most love the prettiest trattoria in Rome and the ugliest one. The prettiest one is Ciccia Bomba, owned by an antiques dealer. The food is great, of course, with a slightly modern twist. The room is pretty, with lovely, but not fussy, antiques.

Across the street is Gino e Pietro, at the corner of Via del Governo Vecchio and Vicolo Savelli. It's ugly as sin--ugly in the way that your parent's finished basement used to be--but the food is wonderful. And I say they are our favorites because whenever my wife and I can't figure out what to do for lunch or dinner anywhere else in the world, one of us will say, "Well, do you want Ciccia Bomba or Gino e Pietro?"

DOI: If folks are seeking a fancy restaurant for a special occasion what would you recommend?

JB: Oooh, that's tough. If you really want the over-the- top experience, well, La Pergola in the Caviliere Hilton, is remarkable. It's really special, gastronomically and as an event. Everyone should do it once. La Rosetta is a nice room with marvelous seafood and a Sicilian touch, but the prices have run amok. I mean, they have 42 euros primi piatti. It takes you back (and, frankly, turns me off). I know people say Antico Arco has become "too Americanized," but we did a family dinner there (both my US family and some Roman relations) and it was stupendous. They did a pasta with fiori di zucca that was one of the greatest things I have ever tasted anywhere in the world. Al Bric is charming and has an unbelievable wine list.

And here's a place that I have never seen in any English-language media: Ristorante Sant'Anna. It's a throwback to Rome of the 1960s. Only Italian diners with waiters who know their stuff. As my wife says, "They make you feel special." It's not fancy in the formal, dress-up sense. But I'd bring a party of favorites there any time and then eat whatever the waiter suggested. They've never steered me wrong.

DOI: What mistakes do first-time or even 4th-time visitors to Rome make that bug you?

JB: Well, two that make me laugh. The first one is assuming that everyone in Rome who is an Italian is a Roman. Americans forget that Italians come to Rome on holiday, too. So Americans are always frustrated when an Italian in Rome doesn't know how to give directions or doesn't seem sophisticated. Well, it's probably because they aren't Romans. They're Italians from out-of-town and they are as confused as you! The other thing: Map folding. Everyone, even Romans, carry a map. But Romans (and those of us who affect Romanism) have their maps folded into a little square that covers the neighborhood they are in. Tourists unfold the entire gigantic map--usually the one they've gotten from the tourist office--right there on the street. Those are the ones I go up to and try to help because they are obviously lost.

And then there is the mistake too many people make in too many places: Going to a city like Rome with a checklist of "must-see" things. You'll be so busy checking off the sites you've seen and the things you've done that you'll come home remembering nothing. It's much better to see or do one great thing and assume you'll get back for the rest another time. Even if you never get back, you'll have a real memory, not a checklist.

DOI: Any places visitor should skip in terms of sites?

JB: I find the catacombs boring. The Via Condotti is kind of dull. And you're talking to a guy that loves retail. My dad was a retailer and I covered retailing for years as a reporter. But the shops on the Via Condotti are the same as you'll see in any big city. The Via Veneto is wildly overrated, too. As Fellini himself said, the Via Veneto he portrayed in La Dolce Vita was an invention.

DOI: What do you think the most underrated site in Rome is?

JB: Well, I can think of a dozen things. But if we're talking about a site, it's Castel Sant' Angelo. It's a remarkable edifice. And even though it's not "underrated" in the classic sense, I am always blown away by the Pantheon. It is an astonishing feat. The more frequently I visit, the more I am amazed.

DOI: Any other favorites -- private guides, neighborhood cafe, shopping, etc.

JB: Oh, my, a million things. I'm a sucker for a Fiat 500. I'll always stop on the street and examine one. Seeing a Cinquecento on the street makes me happy--and I'm not even a car person. I say go into any market and buy a box of Gentilini cookies, a local Roman brand. Most people fall in love with the Brasil (a chocolate cookie), but I'm partial to the Vittorio, a tiny, lemon-flavored cookie. The café at the top of the otherwise horrendous monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Piazza Venezia has an outrageous view of the city. Spazio Sette is a great home-goods shop.

I adore walking along the Via della Scrofa: I love the bakery on that street; I love the fact that there's still a place that only sells chickens and eggs; I love the watch shops; I love the tavola calda at Volpetti. I buy ties in a little tie shop in the Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina. I find the Largo Argentina a miracle. I always give money to the cat sanctuary there and, at the right time of year, the starlings mass right about it. My wife swears by the potpourri at Santa Maria Novella, a Florentine firm with a branch on the Corso Rinascimento. And this year she bought me some of their shaving soap. Now my face smells like foccacia after every shave. And I've learned that you must look into every window, through every doorway and down every vicolo. The next miracle-- a fresco, a sculpture, a hidden garden--is just a peek away.

Joe's Rome Recommendations

APARTMENTS

Palazzo Olivia
Via dei Leutari, 15
One and two bedroom apartments that sleep up to six people. Four-night minimum. Each apartment has satellite television and a telephone and is accessible by elevator.
(39) 06 68216986
www.palazzo-olivia.it
Rates: Range from 150 to 295 euros per night; a 10% supplement is added during Christmas and Easter.

Rome is Home
One bedroom apartment on Via dei Chiavari.The apartment is on the 4th floor, which is accessible by an elevator.
www.rome-is-home.com
Rates: Start at 1,400 euros per week.

DINING

Al Bric
Via del Pellegrino, 51
(39) 06 6879533
www.albric.it
Open daily for dinner and Sunday for lunch.
Closed August.

Ristorante Antico Arco
Piazzale Aurelio, 7
(39 ) 06 5815274
Dinner only. Closed Sunday.

Ciccia Bomba
Via del Governo Vecchio, 76
(39 ) 06 68802108
Open for lunch Monday through Sunday and for dinner Thursday through Tuesday.

Gino e Pietro
Via Governo Vecchio, 106
(39) 06 686157
Closed Thursday.

La Pergola
Rome Cavalieri Hotel
Via Alberto Cadlolo, 101
(39) 06 35091
www.hilton.com
Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.
Reservations essential. With three Michelin stars, this is one of the world's best restaurants.

La Rosetta
Via della Rosetta, 9
(39) 06 6861002
www.larosetta.com
Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday.
Reservations essential. Rome's first restaurant to serve only seafood.

Ristorante Sant'Anna
Via di S.Anna, 8/9
(39) 06 68307190
www.ristorantesantanna.it
Closed Sunday.

Volpetti alla Scrofa
Via della Scrofa, 31/32
(39) 06 6861940
Rome's famous delicatessen.