The surprisingly swift ascent of Spain from a marginal European player to the strongest continental and colonial super-power in the sixteenth century was felt particularly in Italy. During this time Spain succeeded in bringing under its direct rule the kingdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, and the duchy of Milan, and in establishing a close alliance with the papacy in order to promote the Catholic Reformation. However, as this collection of essays clearly emphasises, despite the common interests shared by Italians and Spaniards the relationship between the two peoples could vary on a wide spectrum that went from deep identification to outright rebellion. A useful introduction by Simon Ditchfield traces the complexities of the Ibero-Italian interaction, thus setting the scene for the studies that follow. The book is divided into three sections which consider the areas where the Spanish presence was particularly felt: politics and society, religion, and art. Opening the first section, Catherine Fletcher portrays the largely negative stereotypes of Italian ambassadors to Spain (particularly those from Venice) regarding their host country and its people. Nicholas Davidson complements this by looking at the political consternation of the Venetian Republic at the constant Spanish threat, and the resulting feelings of Hispanophobia that it generated. Steven Cummings's fine essay focuses on the largely neglected interaction between Spaniards residents in Naples and Neapolitan plebeians. In the second section, Miles Pattenden outlines the limitations of Spanish imperial power in Rome, despite Philip ii's heavy investments in religious patronage. Paolo Broggio's essay fleshes out the political implications of doctrinal disagreements between a relatively dogmatic Spanish monarchy and a more flexible papacy. Clare Copland contextualises the decision to sanctify four Spaniards in 1622, ably showing that support for canonisation transcended national lines, to religious orders, communities, and external territories. The section on art opens with Piers Baker-Bates's study of the relationship between Spanish patrons and Italian artists, debunking the widespread dichotomy between a sophisticated Italian model versus a decadent and derivative Spanish style. Robert Gaston and Andrea Gáldy, in a revisionist reading of Pedro de Toledo's tomb in Naples, demonstrate that it owes more to Spanish religious traditions than to Renaissance Italian art. Elena Calvillo shows how the miniaturists Clovio and Holanda succeeded at the Habsburg court by combining Italian ideals with Spanish taste. Finally, Jorge Fernández-Santos Ortiz-Iribas traces the idiosyncratic ‘un-Spanish’ cultural policies of the Spanish viceroy of Naples, the marquis de Carpio. The quality of all the essays is of a uniform high standard, displaying fine examples of original and innovative research on the complex interaction between Italians and Spaniards, which was often determined by alternative forms of identification to the nation state, including social denominations, political and religious affiliations, and divisions according to varying national and regional lines. It is a matter of regret that this otherwise illuminating collection does not cover such traditionally neglected Spanish territories as Sicily and Sardinia. This book should be of great interest not only to students and scholars of early modern Spain and Italy, but also to specialists in imperial history.