Baptista Mantuanus was an Italian poet and Carmelite reformer who lived from 1447 to 1516. Born in Mantua to a Spanish family, he eventually joined a reformed branch of the Carmelite order. He rose through the religious hierarchy to serve as the Prior General of the Carmelites. A prominent humanist of his era, he was highly regarded for his extensive literary output, which included both theological prose and vast amounts of verse that influenced European literature for centuries.