Grimaldo Canella was several times Consul of Genoa, and served as ambassador to Federico Barbarossa in 1158 and to the Emir of Morocco in 1169.

[1] During Grimaldo's lifetime his family already lived in the Genoese area between what would be the Church di San Luca, erected by his son Oberto and his father-in-law around 1180, and the sestiere called della Maddalena.

In this age the Grimaldi began their ascent among the largest families of the Republic of Genoa, involved in the first struggles of the time.

[5] In this context, the figure of Grimaldo therefore stands as that of the eponymous progenitor, the famous consul whose descendants wanted to keep his name as the surname of the same family.

[5] Instead, his figure began to have serious studies only in the modern age even if the unknown on the real origin of the Canella still remains.