Irresponsible shipowners have been a danger to ... - Grimaldi Group

family and human values
Guido,
a generous man and a kind father
What was Guido the private
man like? “Southern Italy’s
answer to Enrico Cuccia”, as
he was sometimes called? Methodical, a
solitary person of fixed habits? This description
may be true to some extent, if
we consider the great entrepreneur, but
it’s well wide of the mark if we look at the
man that emerges from the many anecdotes
and stories told by his wife Paola
and daughter Consuelo. And, though he
always kept a low profile, Guido Grimaldi
had a wonderful sense of humour; he
once wrote a thank-you note to the Mattozzi
Family, who owned the waterfront
restaurant where he would always eat at
lunchtime, phrased as follows: “Thanks
for letting me survive for so long, over
50 years of patronage….” His laugh was
infectious, he was a wonderful raconteur
and all who knew him found Guido a very
engaging person.
Guido was a tough man, but gentle at the
same time. He was a strict father, but only
so as to prepare his children to deal with
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life. He had very high moral standards
and was extremely altruistic, especially
with regard to the less fortunate. He was a
very learned man with a great love of art,
history, archaeology and mythology. He
had a great respect for nature and was
something of an aesthete. “He had an
eye for the women too,” says Paola with
a smile. “Especially redheads; he used to
say that between a portrait of a cardinal
by Titian and a less valuable painting of
a beautiful woman he’d choose the latter.”
Though Consuelo quickly adds, “OK,
but he always said that the best deal he
ever did in his life was when he married
Mum, not just because of her looks, but
because she was well-read, did lots of
voluntary and social work, and appreci-
Above: Guido with his wife Paola and his five children: Consuelo, Cosimo, Gianluca, Amelia
and Emanuele.
Below: The wedding of Guido Grimaldi and Paola Arcidiacono back in 1954.