First established as a royal palace complex by the Merina king Andrianjaka in the early 17th century, the Rova of Antananarivo continued to function as the central seat of royal Merina authority until 1895 – 1897, with the end of Merina independence after the the Franco-Hova Wars, French colonization and the exile of Queen Ranavalona III. The complex features an eclectic mix of local and foreign styles, uniquely blended to suit the royal Malagasy sense of taste.
“Over time, the number of buildings within the site varied. Andrianjaka founded the Rova with three buildings and a dedicated tomb site in the early 17th century.
The number of structures rose to approximately twenty during the late 18th-century reign of King Andrianampoinimerina. By the late 20th century, the Rova’s structures had been reduced to eleven, representing various architectural styles and historical periods.
The largest and most prominent of these was Manjakamiadana, also known as the “Queen’s Palace” after Queen Ranavalona I, for whom the original wooden palace was built between 1839 and 1841 by Frenchman Jean Laborde. In 1867 the palace was encased in stone for Queen Ranavalona II by Scotsman James Cameron, an artisan missionary of the London Missionary Society.
The neighbouring Tranovola, a smaller wooden palace constructed in 1819 by Creole trader Louis Gros for King Radama I, was the first multi-story building with verandas in the Rova. The model offered by Tranovola transformed architecture throughout the highlands over the course of the 19th century, inspiring a widespread shift toward two-storey houses with verandas.
The Rova grounds also contained a cross-shaped wooden house (Manampisoa) built as the private residence of Queen Rasoherina, a stone Protestant chapel (Fiangonana), nine royal tombs, and a number of named wooden houses built in the traditional style reserved for the andriana (nobles) in Imerina.
Among the most significant of these were Besakana, erected in the early 17th century by Andrianjaka and considered the throne of the kingdom, and Mahitsielafanjaka, a later building which came to represent the seat of ancestral spiritual.
