Ritratto in incisione di Carlo Ghega.

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Karl Ritter von Ghega (Venice, 1802–1860) was the engineer who revolutionised railway engineering, overcoming the most formidable geographical challenges. Famous for the Semmering Railway, a masterpiece of engineering integrated into the landscape and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ghega transformed the design of mountain railways. Born in Venice, the engineer left a technical legacy that is fundamental to high-altitude railways worldwide. His collection of works and manuscripts is now held at the Marciana National Library in Venice.

Visiting Austria, before the advent of the euro as currency, you will certainly have happened to hold one or more twenty-shilling banknotes in your hands. And being a small denomination banknote, it was easy to hold more than one in your hands. Depicted on the banknote was an elegant man, complete with moustache and wavy hair, a look somewhere between severe and enigmatic, with a typical nineteenth-century appearance.On the back of this banknote was an imposing, arched work set in a mountain valley. A work reminiscent of Roman aqueducts, and more recently the viaducts that surely once in our l

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