Luigi Negrelli was a railway engineer, bridge builder and the first architect of the Suez Canal
Luigi Negrelli, born in Fiera di Primiero on 23 January 1799, was an engineer and railway pioneer. He planned and built roads, bridges and railway lines, mainly in the Austrian Empire, in Italy and Switzerland. He planned Switzerland's first railway line between Zurich and Baden, as well as the Prague railway viaduct, which is still named after him. In 1850, the emperor Franz Joseph I awarded Luigi Negrelli the Iron Crown, an important Austro-Hungarian order.
As an engineer, he is particularly known for being the first architect of the Suez Canal, but unfortunately he died on 1 October 1858 in Vienna without witnessing the start of construction on his huge project. After his death, the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps founded the Suez Canal Company and directed its construction, which was carried out according to Negrelli's plans.
