Franceschino Malaspina was the lord of Castiglione del Terziere and son of Moroello Malaspina, a black Guelf captain. In 1306 he gave Dante refuge there. Franceschino then sent Dante as an ambassador to Sarzana.

Sources The Nation, 1891, article on Dante Britannica, 15th Edition (1982), Vol. VII, p. 525.