Sun | Dec 21, 2025

‘Pino’ Maffessanti, tourism developer, lauded in death

Published:Monday | February 28, 2022 | 12:08 AM
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Philanthropist Giuseppe Maffessanti accepts the Impact Award from NCB’s Bernadette Barrow in this October 25, 2011, photograph.Philanthropist Giuseppe Maffessanti accepts the Impact Award from NCB’s Bernadette Barrow in this October 25, 2011, photograp
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Philanthropist Giuseppe Maffessanti accepts the Impact Award from NCB’s Bernadette Barrow in this October 25, 2011, photograph.Philanthropist Giuseppe Maffessanti accepts the Impact Award from NCB’s Bernadette Barrow in this October 25, 2011, photograph.
Giuseppe Maffessanti.
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Giuseppe Maffessanti.
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The late Guiseppe ‘Pino’ Maffessanti has been praised for his integral role in the development of the architecture of Jamaica’s tourism industry.

For more than five decades, through his companies, Maffessanti Builders and Maffessanti Bros, he was credited as a stalwart in the design and construction of many hotels, villas, and apartments.

Maffessanti, who passed away on February 25, was also a well-known philanthropist, especially to churches and schools, and through service clubs, giving selflessly to community projects. He was 88.

In lamenting his passing, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said that Maffessanti understood what development was about and how to build communities. He was lauded for his philanthropic projects in St James, in particular, and the wider Catholic community.

“More importantly, he had a love for humanity, and this was demonstrated in his charity; always involved in doing things for the less fortunate as exemplified through his work with the Good Shepherd Foundation, which he chaired for many years, and the Catholic Church. These stand out as clear examples of the nature of the man,” Bartlett said.

In 2018, Maffessanti was inducted into the Order of Jamaica (OJ) for his sterling contribution to the construction industry, social development, welfare, and philanthropy. Prior to receiving that national award, he had received the Order of Distinction, in the rank of Commander.

He was also made a Knight of the Order of St Gregory the Great, one of the highest honours in the Catholic Church.

Italian by birth, he made Jamaica and specifically Montego Bay his home since migrating here in the early 1950s and succeeded his father in running the construction company he had established.

Under Pino’s management, Maffessanti Buildings became a household name, especially in western Jamaica, where it earned a reputation for quality.

Among the hotels that bear the signature of Maffessanti Builders are the famous Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Tryall Club, Couples Sans Souci, and Shaw Park.

“Pino Maffessanti has made an indelible mark on Jamaica’s tourism landscape and while he was honoured by a grateful nation during his lifetime, it is also fitting that on the occasion of his passing, we also pay tribute to him,” said Bartlett.

Maffessanti is survived by widow Daniela and his two children, Mark and Nancy.

editorial@gleanerjm.com