Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), was an Italian Romantic composer primarily known for his operas. Verdi is considered with Richard Wagner the most influential composer of operas of the nineteenth century. His best known works are: Rigoletto, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Aida, Nabucco, Don Carlo, Otello, and La Forza del Destino. Visionary and politically engaged, he remains – alongside Garibaldi and Cavour – an emblematic figure of the reunification process of the Italian peninsula (the Risorgimento).