Du haut de la Colonne de Juillet... HFF

The July Column (built between 1835 and 1840) stands in the center of the "Place de la Bastille" in Paris, commemorating the Revolution of 1830.

47 m high, it contains an interior spiral staircase. Over the Corinthian capital is a gallery, surmounted with a gilded globe, on which stands a colossal gilded figure, Auguste Dumont's "Génie de la Liberté" (Spirit of Freedom). Perched on one foot in the manner of Giambologna's Mercury, the star-crowned nude brandishes the torch of civilisation and the remains of his broken chains.