Italian luthier Mario Grimaldi was born in Filippa di Mesoraca (Crotone) in 1957. He started working with wood at the early age of sixteen as a mechanical model maker at the Eligio Re Fraschini company , where the models for the Ferrari Formula 1 car were made. In 1982 he enrolled at the civic music school in Milan, studying classical guitar and double bass for several years. 
In 1986 Mario attended the lutherie course with Carlo Raspagni, and in 1989 opened his own workshop dedicated exclusively to guitar making. The guitars of this period were inspired largely by the work of Robert Bouchet. In 1996 Mario received an order from the great Maestro Alirio Diaz and built him a guitar with several customized features. Mario was also allowed me to measure and inspect Alirio’s 1951 Hermann Hauser guitar, and since then Mario has adopted many of the design features of this guitar and has integrated this into his own style, including building a similar Hauser-style model.
In 2001 Mario met Carlo Gallinotti - the son (and assistant) of the great Italian luthier, Pietro Gallinotti. From Carlo, Mario came into possession of several items from the Gallinotti workshop including the molds, woods, tools and other pieces of equipment. Mario then began experimenting with Gallinotti's construction method, which he later described in a book dedicated to Gallinotti. This method again influenced Mario’s design and approach to guitar making.
An important part of Mario’s work is restoration work on historical and vintage instruments. For many years he has been taking care of and maintaining an important private collection of historical 20th century guitars by the great Spanish and European luthiers, often finding inspiration that he absorbs and incorporates into his own work. Mario has also held conferences in various Italian conservatories on historical Italian violin making of the 20th century and has published the books “Pietro Gallinotti Luthier of Solero” written with Mario Dell'Ara, and “Il Legno Che Sing” written with Angelo Gilardino.
