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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Ponama property, located at 2 rue Roland-Garros in Saint-Denis, is a remarkable house on the island of La Réunion, built in the 1860s. It originally belonged to Gertrude Dubourg, then to Marie Magdeleine Ericie Seimont (1829), before being acquired by Alphonse Bédier in 1857. Albert de Villèle, owner from 1862, built the ground floor and gave it the appearance of a pavilion with a four-paned roof. The house remained in the Villèle family until 1906, during which time it welcomed the Queen of Madagascar Ranavalona III, exiled from March 1897 to November 1898.

In 1906, the property changed hands to belong to Georgina Brugier widow Domengé, then to Marcelle and Georges Brocard (1919), before returning briefly to Emmanuel de Villèle in 1921. In 1932, Marin Rivière, owner of Grande-Terre's sugar estate, transformed it radically: elevation of one floor, two-paned roof, and addition of a pediment decorated with cut wood. The Rivière heirs sold it in 1970 to Antoine Ponama, parent of the co-founder of the PCR Jean-Baptiste Ponama, before she passed to Maurice Ponama in 1993.

The house Ponama illustrates the Creole style chalet architecture, with a wooden structure under sheet metal, a L-shaped variangue, and characteristic sprigs. Its history reflects the links between Reunion and Madagascar, notably through the exile of Ranavalona III. Since 1996, it has been included in the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments, recognizing its heritage value and its role in regional history.

The transformations of the 20th century, especially those brought by Marin Rivière, changed his initial appearance, but also enriched his architectural character. The property now includes the main house, its outbuildings, a fence wall with bar, a guetali, and gardens, protected by the 1996 decree. Its location in downtown Saint-Denis makes it an accessible testimony to the history of Réunion and its cultural blending.

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