Do you know? The Ruins is known as Taj Mahal of the Philippines because of the beautiful story.
The Ruins is one of the tourist attraction here in Negros Occidental. It located in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. Despite the loss of so many of the mansion, its ruins have earned recognition as one of the country's most beautiful examples of Philippine architecture. But the mansion is now preserved to maintain the structure.
In 1920, The Ruins is built by a wealthy sugar baron named Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson. He constructed the mansion as a testament of his love for his Portuguese wife, Cora Maria Osorio Rosa-Braga, after she passed away in 1911. Maria, who was pregnant with their eleventh child at the time, lost her and their baby’s lives after figuring in an accident.
He built the structure in a 440-hectare sugar plantation situated in the border of present-day Talisay and Bacolod.
Because it took inspiration from Italian architecture, its architecture was referred to as Italianate. But later, in 1942, Filipino guerilla soldiers working for the American military in the Second World War set it burn. This was done in order to prevent its use as a military office by the Invading Japanese Forces. The mansion continuously burned for three days until only its current cement frame was left standing. The original intention was to burn it to the ground. That's why The Ruins Mansion is the remains of an ancestral home built in 1920.
The great-grandchildren of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson and Cora Maria Osorio Rosa-Braga currently own entirely of the Ruins Mansion.
Except the mansion itself, have a fountain in front of the mansion. The other side, have a restaurant that you can eat and indulge the beautiful mansion in front of it.
You can also go to their garden, you can see a pond with a lot of koi fish and their beautiful stonehenge structure-like. If you want to sit and relax, on the side of the pond there are a bleachers. You can take a picture on their wide carabao grass lawn.
If you have a plan to go there, this is the time to see one of the Negros Occidental's Pride "The Ruins". At night, The Ruins is look much than beautiful the lights. This place is perfect for shooting of debut and wedding. And it's instagrammable surroundings.
Many celebrities and news personalities visited the mansion. The tour guide of the mansion is known for making tourist happy and he already guesting many shows in Manila.
And I found out that Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil's movie Everyday I love you was filmed here. They chose the place because of its romantic feels.
If you want to buy souvenir , they have a souvenir shop inside the mansion.
The best time to visit The Ruins is open from 2 PM to 8 PM from Tuesdays to Thursdays and from 11 PM to 8 PM from Fridays to Saturdays. It is closed on Mondays and special events.
It is recommended to visit during the dry season in the Philippines, which usually starts in November and ends around May. But depends on you on what day you can visit the place.
Thank you for reading and see you again on my next blog.