Talk:Karl Ritter von Ghega

Carl Ritter von Ghega was an ethnic Italian

The name von Ghega may sound pretty with the Albanian designation Ghegs; but according to the authors of Encyclopedia of North American Railroads – page 493, Carl Ritter von Ghega was "An ethnic Italian". --Vannucci (talk) 15:33, 20 July 2020 (UTC)

Hey, @Vannucci:, hope you're well. It's somewhat more complex than that. In general, we should rely more on secondary bibliography that deals with the given subject extensively because WP:TERTIARY sources like Encyclopedia of North American Railroads, tend to gloss over relatively minor subjects like Carl Ghega's family tree within its 1225 pages in terms of equating place of origin with ethnicity without further discussion. A very recent paper about him with many details about his family tree is Paar, Rinaldo (2019). "Carl Ritter von Ghega – 2018 Surveyor of the Year". Kartografija i Geoinformacije. 18. doi:10.32909/kg.18.32.5. which about his family tree writes Carl Ritter von Ghega was an Austrian of Albanian extraction, born in Venice (Elsie 2012). His father was Anton Gega, a captain in the Venetian navy. His mother was Anna, nee Pribis. On 24 June 2005, a symposium entitled Carl Gega – Between Legend and Reality was organised by the Albanian Embassy in Vienna. It was demonstrated that Carl Ritter von Ghega was of Albanian extraction. Ghega’s ancestors emigrated from Albania to Perast in Montenegro, and from there to Venice. Gjergi Gega was a captain and judge who moved from Albania to Perast. His son, Cristofor, travelled from Perast to Venice, where he became a naval officer. Cristofor Gega (Carl’s great-grandfather), had a son, Gasper (Carl’s grandfather), who also became a naval officer and captain. Gasper Gega married Laura Iavelli, whose family had run the ‘Albanian School’ for decades in Venice. They had three children: Anton, Giovananton, and Angele. The eldest, Antonio (Anton) became a captain in the Venetian Navy and was the father of Carl. Beyond that aspect of his identity though, the article should focus on him as an engineer - the reason why he's notable even today. --Maleschreiber (talk) 20:37, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

@Maleschreiber: Not a good idea to include an Albanian source in this matter, since Albanian media make a big noise about the origin of famous people, which have during these years got out of hand. The source you mention is not convincing and doesn't add up and can very well consist of false evidence, which can be done with ease. In the meantime the source Encyclopedia of North American Railroads is the way to go. If there are better sources which can confirm without a doubt that von Ghega was of Albanian origin then I would allow it. --Vannucci (talk) 11:50, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

According to the source Dictionary of American Family Names - page 31, Ghegan is an Italian surname. Other sources do not mention Albanian language knowledge. According to the source Export: Austrian Architecture in Europe - page 14, Despite his family's Italian descent he was raised as an Austrian and grew up speaking three languages (German, Italian, Slovenian). --Vannucci (talk) 09:09, 7 May 2021 (UTC)

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