This was the annual Colonel Cranstoun Memorial Lecture, held jointly with the Dante Aligheri Society. The speaker was LADAS's own Renaissance Man, Ed Archer, whose subject the Italian City States in the Renaissance. In a diverse and comprehensive lecture Ed described the development and architecture of a number of city-states. In addition to the well know cities of Florence and Venice, Ed also discussed cities such as Sienna where the Renaissance also had a significant effect. Ed drew the audience's attention to the fact that the great Renaissance was in fact the second one seen in Europe; the first Renaissance in the twelfth century had been confined mainly to the church. Ed illustrated the legacy of the Renaissance in art, architecture, sculpture and literature. He explained that great influence that the translation of the works of the great Greek philosophers and writers had on the period. However, life was not all great buildings and high culture, and Ed described the conflicts of the period; the role of the Condottiere in battles between the city states, the influence of the external powers of the Holy Roman Empire and France. He also described the dramatic effect that the Black Death had on many of the densely populated cities.