Family coming from Obertenghi line, from Obert I who, around the 10th century, was Earl Palatine and marquis of Milan, Eastern Liguria, and part of Piedmont. Through his descendants, we get to Albert, called Malaspina, died in 1140, founder of the noble family whose members, as imperial vassals, ruled the feuds including, from Liguria to Lombardy, also Lunigiana and Garfagnana.
In 1473, the Duchy of Massa and Carrara was founded by Iacopo Malaspina and in the 16th century, after a wedding, the governing family became Cybo-Malaspina, giving birth to a flourishing period based on the development of the marble trade.
In 1738 Maria Teresa, the last descendant, married Ercole I d'Este, the heir of the Duchy of Modena: from this moment, Este family will rule on both territories until Napoleon's invasion in 1796.
What is left of Malaspina family has been preserved by the persistence of stone and includes the castles enriching with history the Park territory in Lunigiana and Garfagnana: San Giorgio Castle in the Municipality of Filattiera, transformed from an ancient Byzantine fortress into a noble residence of Malaspina in the 15th century; Verrucola Castle, in the Municipality of Fivizzano, fortress belonging to one of Matilde's vassals, considerably enlarged and enriched by Spinetta Malaspina the Great in the 14th century; Terrarossa Castle, in the Municipality of Licciana Nardi, built by Fabrizio Malspina in the 16th century to watch over Via Francigena; Bastìa Castle, again in the Municipality of Licciana Nardi, called "invulnerable" by Ariosto, built by Malaspina to control the access to Lagastrello Pass.
Further info: it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaspina
