Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
Designed by Charles Percier and Pierre Léonard Fontaine, the arch was built between 1806-1808 by the Emperor Napoleon I as a pastiche of the Arch of Septimus Severus in Rome. It was commissioned to commemorate France's military victories in 1805. It was originally surmounted by the famous horses of Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice, looted by Napoleon, but these were returned there in 1815. They were replaced by a quadriga sculpted by Baron François Joseph Bosio, depicting Peace riding in a triumphal chariot, led by gilded Victories on either side; the composition commemorates the Restoration of the Bourbons following Napoleon's downfall.
The arch actually consists of three arches, one large and two small, side by side. Around its exterior are eight Corinthian columns of granite, topped by eight soldiers of the Empire. Between the soldiers, bas-reliefs depict:
- the Arms of the Kingdom of Italy with figures representing History and the Arts;
- the Arms of the French Empire with Victory, Fame, History and Abundance
- Wisdom and Strength holding the arms of the Kingdom of Italy, accompanied by Prudence and Victory.
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is at the easternmost end of the so-called "Great Axis" (Grand Ax) of Paris, a nine-kilometre long linear route which dominates central and western Paris. Looking westwards, the arch is perfectly aligned with the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe and (although it is not directly visible from the Place du Carrousel) the Grande Arch de la Defense. The axis thus begins and ends with an arch.