Born in Livorno, Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) had his greatest success early with his Cavalleria rusticana, a revenge opera set in Sicily that began the verismo movement in Italian opera, which favored stories set in the present day and characters who lived ordinary lives. Mascagni wrote various other operas, but aside from Cavalleria rusticana, the only ones that still have a hold on the repertoire are L'amico Fritz and Iris.