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facts: to them, the New World was forever Florence, even if scarcely any Florentine other than Vespucci had ever been there. Markey cites Stephen Greenblatt’s concept of the “colonization of the marvelous” as one context for the Medici’s persistent engagement with the wonders of America. Closely allied is Markey’s unifying claim that the Medici, through their collecting, display, and appropriation of New World artifacts, carried out a form of “vicarious conquest.” Just as Medicean artists and their patrons cast their city as heir to the legacy of ancient Rome, Markey shows the myriad ways in which they were able to reimagine Florence as the discoverer and the master of the New World through the power of representation. And that was a power the Medici court wielded with an experienced hand.