Rome may just have had its heaviest snowfall for 27 years but Martin Castrogiovanni is promising England the warmest of welcomes at the weekend. The Italian prop is also calling on the home team to cut out the mistakes which cost them against France last Saturday as they seek a first win over the English in 17 attempts.

While Castrogiovanni is used to wintry conditions in Leicester, where he continues to play his club rugby, he says he has never known it so chilly in the Italian capital. "We are trying to make the English people feel at home," he joked. "In all the time I have played in the Six Nations we have never had this kind of weather. It's like this across the whole of Europe but we have never had weather this cold in Rome."

With the game also due to be played in the Stadio Olimpico, rather than the compact Stadio Flaminio, England will need to do some acclimatising when they arrive in Italy on Thursday evening. Tourists have even been building snowmen in front of the Vatican but the Italian rugby public are more preoccupied with Saturday's on-field prospects. "A lot of people think we have the opportunity to win but it's going to be a tough game," said Castrogiovanni.

"It's going to be one of the most physical games because England have a massive big pack of forwards. To win we have to play the perfect game...we cannot make too many mistakes like we did last weekend. Jacques Brunel has asked us to attack a little bit more....we are now trying to kick the ball less and not to be so conservative. But if you miss a tackle or a line-out against England, they will punish you."

Italy have made two changes to their starting line-up, with the lock Marco Bortolami earning his 90th cap in place of Cornelius van Zyl. Gonzalo Canale returns to the midfield in place of Alberto Sgarbi and Brunel also makes three alterations to his bench. Benetton Treviso's captain, Antonio Pavanello, could make his Six Nations debut this weekend, along with the uncapped 20-year-old centre Luca Morisi. The veteran flanker Mauro Bergamasco is also restored to the 22-man squad after recovering from a shoulder injury.

All concerned are looking forward to playing in front of Italy's biggest home audience for a Six Nations fixture. "Normally in Italy we never play in front of 70,000 people, we normally play in front of 30,000," said Castrogiovanni. "For us to have such support for the first time and to have 70,000 people cheering for us will help us a lot. As Latin people we are very proud of that."

The 30-year-old is also eagerly awaiting his collision with the England front row, not least his fellow Tigers' tighthead Dan Cole. "Dan is still young. I know he looks like he's 45 but he's still very young for a prop. He's got a very good future and will get better and better. England will put a lot of pressure on at the scrum like they did against Scotland. I know the English people and they will attack us where we are strongest. We need to be prepared for them."

Italy team v England

A Masi; G Venditti (both Aironi), T Benvenuti Treviso), G Canale (Clermont-Auvergne), L McLean; K Burton, E Gori (all Treviso); A Lo Cicero (Racing-Métro Paris), L Ghiraldini (Treviso), M Castrogiovanni (Leicester), Q Geldenhuys, M Bortolami (both Aironi), A Zanni, R Barbieri (both Treviso), S Parisse (Stade Français). Replacements: T D'Apice (Aironi), L Cittadini, A Pavanello (both Treviso), Mauro Bergamasco (Aironi), F Semenzato, T Botes (both Treviso), L Morisi (Parma).