Biographical overview
1861: Carlo Ghega, or Karl Ritter von Ghega (274 titles of manuscripts and printed works)
Karl Ritter von Ghega (Carlo Ghega; Venice, 10 January 1802 – Vienna, 14 March 1860) graduated as an architectural engineer from the University of Padua in 1819 and immediately entered the service of the Provisional Central Inspectorate of Waterways and Roads in Venice. Among other projects, he contributed to the design and construction of sections of the Strada d’Alemagna, today the state road linking Treviso and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
From 1836 onwards, he held various managerial posts of increasing responsibility within the Imperial Railways, while also undertaking study and information trips throughout Europe and the United States.
He produced numerous and significant projects for railways, bridges, viaducts, and railway structures, as well as theoretical and practical works arising from his travels and professional experience.
The work that earned him the highest honours—including the title of count—and the widespread admiration of specialists was the design of the Semmering Railway, considered “the most beautiful route from southern Austria to Vienna.”
It was the first mountain railway in Europe built with standard-gauge track and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
The bequest
In his will, dated 21 January 1858, Ghega wrote: “I leave all my Italian, French, and German books and manuscripts to the public Library of St Mark in Venice.”
The inventory of delivery, signed on 13 September 1861 by his cousin Canon Giovanni Battista, executor of the will, lists 274 titles of manuscripts and printed works by various authors and of different kinds (including multiple copies of certain printed works), with the addition of 14 unnumbered items.
The list concludes with the note: “The missing numbers belong to the Correr Museum.”
Extent and composition
The collection comprises editions of ancient and modern literary works, historical writings, and technical and scientific treatises.
Part of the manuscript material—including the Report and Project for the Semmering Railway in German—is catalogued in Class IV of the Library’s Italian manuscripts.
Further reading
- Marika Caiola, Karl Ritter von Ghega, degree thesis, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, academic year 2000/2001 [LEO D 3390].
- Carlo Frati – Arnaldo Segarizzi, Catalogo dei codici marciani italiani, vol. II, Modena, G. Ferraguti & C., 1911, pp. 178–185.