Albert Malaspina
Albert disputes with Peire de la Caravana the position of earliest native Italian troubadour.
He was a son of Obizzo I the Great and husband of a daughter of William V of Montferrat.
His brother-in-law Boniface I of Montferrat and his nephews Corrado (Conrad) and Guglielmo (William) were all enthusiastic patrons of troubadours.
Though this is the only work of his to survive, the author of his vida compliments his couplets, cansos, and sirventes.
According to Raimbaut, in his famous "epic letter" Valen marques, senher de Monferrat, in the 1170s Albert abducted Saldina de Mar, a daughter of a prominent Genoese family only to have her rescued by Boniface of Montferrat who restored her to her lover, Ponset d'Aguilar.
"Albert the marchese was from the Malaspina marchesi , a brave man was he."