In 1848 all of Italy was simmering with revolution. Though Verdi's residence in Paris prevented him from actively participating in the politics of his homeland, he set about writing an opera that would nonetheless show his support for the revolutionary movement. His search for a patriotic subject led him first to Rienzi (Wagner's version had premiered in 1842 but was nearly unknown in Italy), but his librettist, Salvatore Cammarano, felt that the lack of a true love interest would make it unacceptable to the opera-going public. Instead, Cammarano adapted Joseph Mery's play, La bataille de Toulouse; the resulting opera, La battaglia di Legnano premiered in January, 1849 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. The response to the work in that city—one of the few still free from Austrian rule at the time of the premiere—was clamorous; at the first performance, the last act had to be repeated in its entirety. Unfortunately, the revolution was put down soon after the premiere, and the new government censors deemed the subject unacceptable for theaters; there were occasional revivals under the title L'assedio di Arlem, but the lack of performances over time has prevented the work from ever regaining its original popularity.

Although in subject one of Verdi's most patriotic—and thus nationalistic—operas, La battaglia di Legnano reveals Verdi's growing acquaintance with the forms and musical language of French opera—certainly the result of his long residence in Paris. There are arias in the French three-part form; the patriotic choruses and marches have lost the martial flair characteristic of the earlier Nabucco, and instead taken on a hymn-like solemnity; and the main theme of the opening chorus, "Viva Italia," is used as a recurring unifying motive—again, a practice more French than Italian.

The appearance of stylistic ambiguity—of vacillation between French and Italianate ideas—has led some to criticize the work for a lack of cohesion; however, closer examination of the score reveals a new desire on the part of the composer to tailor musical forms to their dramatic contexts. In fact, a number of sections from La battaglia are unique in Verdi's output, most notably the duet for Arrigo and Lida which, on examination, reveals a completely developed sonata form. In the final accounting, La battaglia di Legnano may not have been the masterpiece that Verdi had hoped to write, but it has many fine moments which all listeners should find enjoyable.

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