The house in Saint-Denis where Ranavalona III lived in exile

The Maison Ponama, a remarkable house, resides on the island of La Réunion. The property belonged to Gertrude Dubourg, then in 1829 to Marie Magdeleine Ericie Seimont épouse Dubourg, before becoming the property of Albert de Villèle in 1862. Albert de Villèle constructed the ground floor in the 1860s. The house has the appearance of a grand pavillon with a roof of four slopes and perforated dormers. The house belonged to the Villèle heirs until 1906, when it was owned by Georgina Brugier, widow of Domengé.

In 1897, this house served as the exile for Ranavalona III of Madagascar, from March 1897 to November 1898. After several more changes in ownership, in 1932, Marin Rivière, owner of the Grande-Terre sugar domain in Saint-Leu, made radical changes to the house. It was expanded, raised by one floor, and covered with a two-sloped roof. This allowed for a facade with a fronton featuring a carved wooden design, flanked by pavillon roofs topped with ridge ornaments.

In 1970, it became the property of the Rivière heirs, purchased by Antoine Ponama, a relative of the politician Jean-Baptiste Ponama. The house belonged to Maurice Ponama in 1993. Today, the Maison Ponama is inscribed in the inventaire supplémentaire des Monuments historiques, preserving its history in the center of Saint-Denis.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons