Italian business owner Paolo Ghirelli has died in Marbella at the age of 80. Josele

Obituary

Italian business owner Paolo Ghirelli dies at the age of 80 in Marbella

For decades, his restaurant La Meridiana has been frequented by the highest echelons of international high society as well as by actors, singers and athletes

María Albarral

Marbella

Monday, 11 August 2025, 11:28

One of the promoters of the great parties and dinners of the 'jet set' society in Marbella - Paolo Ghirelli - died on Friday, 8 August, in Marbella, at the age of 80. The Italian business owner opened the fine cuisine restaurant La Meridiana back in the golden age of the Costa del Sol, when tourism was emerging on the coast.

Foreign and local members of the 'crème de la crème' society - actors, singers and business owners - have always been regular diners at La Meridiana. The establishment is well-known for its events.

La Meridiana has been the venue for various presentations of fine jewellery, cars and haute couture fashion shows. Fernando Martínez de Irujo, Philippe Junot and his ex-wife Nina Junot, Cari Lapique, Gunilla and Luis Ortiz, the Campos family, Naomi Campbell, Bruce Willis, Luis Miguel and Mariah Carey and Antonio Banderas are among the special guests that have dined there through the years.