Giovanni Pico della Mirandola was an Italian philosopher born in 1463. He is best known for his work, the "Oration on the Dignity of Man," which is often considered a manifesto of the Renaissance. In this text, he argued for the potential of human beings to shape their own destiny and emphasized the importance of free will. Pico was a prominent figure in the Renaissance and was influenced by various traditions, including Platonism and Aristotelianism. He sought to reconcile different philosophical and religious ideas, believing that truth could be found in multiple sources. His ideas contributed significantly to the development of humanism.