Column of Charles Félix

The column is one of the most popular monuments in Bonneville, an iconic structure in this capital of the Faucigny. The only monument of its type in the Savoie, it was built in 1826 to honour Charles-Félix, king of the States of Savoy.

This construction followed his visit to Bonneville in 1824 and the grant he agreed for the containment of the river Arve. The column features a pedestal decorated with a bas-relief representing a chained Arve, with a Doric-style limestone column (19 m high) topped with a marble statue of the king, almost 3 m high, made by the Cacciatori brothers. Both artists were working on the restoration of the Abbaye de Hautecombe at the time. The bas-relief is a copy that was created in Savoie blue marble in 2012 by Béatrice Sassone Bouvet. It represents the embodiment of the river Arve, represented as a nymph clothed in classic-style robes, half lying in the reeds and held chained by her ankles and both arms. In the background, the mountain decor gives space for Charles-Félix's monogram at the centre of a wreath of oak and laurel leaves.