Charles Felix Joseph Mary of Savoy was born in Turin on April 6, 1765, to Victor Amadeus, then Duke of Savoy, and Marie Antoinette Ferdinanda, daughter of Philip V of Spain. His first viceroyalty lasted until 1806. The new king, Victor Emmanuel, waiting to have his possessions in Piedmont recognized again, was forced to fall back on Sardinia, the only portion of the kingdom that allowed him to justify his royal status. The Congress of Vienna returned the entire Kingdom to the Savoy in 1815, allowing the King to return to Turin. Charles Felix then resumed the office of viceroy until 1821, when he had to ascend the throne. As the youngest brother he was not destined for the succession, but he was forced to as a result of the abdication in 1821 of his brother, who had only daughters. His reign lasted ten years, during which economic, judicial and military reforms and important public works were promoted. In April 1831, Charles Felix fell seriously ill and, having entrusted the regency of the state to his wife, died in Turin on the 27th of the same month.
The bronze statue in honor of Charles Felix was made by Sassarese sculptor Andrea Galassi in 1829 at the end of the Cagliari-Sassari state road works (1821-1829) and cast in the Cagliari Arsenal in 1833 under the direction of Carlo Boyl. It was placed only in 1860 in the Cagliari largo of the same name (then Piazza San Carlo) with the intention of indicating, with its outstretched arm, the beginning of the new strada Regia, although due to an error in assembly this one points in the opposite direction. The bronze statue, in neoclassical style, four meters high, represents the king in the guise of a Roman soldier, with helmet on his head, cuirass and clad in a toga. In the base, designed by Gaetano Cima, are epigraphs with the inscription written by Cagliari historian Pietro Martini. A few meters away from the statue a milestone column, placed in 1822 by the Viceroy Marquis of Yenne, marks the starting point of the state highway.
