The classical front
Columns and arches without a roof.
Klienneeco — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nataniel Luperte — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Biancaulan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ralff Nestor Nacor — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ralff Nestor Nacor — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Noed20 — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Ruins are the remains of an Italian-inspired family mansion on a 440-hectare sugar plantation in Talisay, Negros Occidental. Its walls and columns stand roofless amid wide lawns, and people call it the Taj Mahal of Negros because of the story of love and grief behind it. The wealthy sugar businessman Don Mariano Lacson built it in the early 1900s in memory of his wife Maria Braga, who died giving birth to their eighth child. During the Second World War, Filipino guerrillas set it on fire to stop Japanese forces using it as a headquarters, and it burned for three days, leaving the foundations standing. His heirs still own it and have preserved it in its ruined state. You enter between pines and colourful planting, and the mansion appears before a round fountain and neat gardens. The classical columns and arches are a yellowish grey, and they are lit in the evening. Inside are family photographs and panels on the history of the house. A pond mirrors the mansion on still days, and sunset is a favourite time for photographs. The mansion is 5 km in a straight line north-east of central Bacolod. Visit late in the afternoon to see both daylight and the lights. It is private property, so follow the rules and do not climb the old walls. Professional photo shoots cost more. Bring an umbrella on sunny days, and private events can limit entry.
Columns and arches without a roof.
Neat gardens before the mansion.
The mansion lit after sunset.
Sugar plantation, Talisay, Negros Occidental province
Don Mariano Lacson built it in memory of his wife, and it burned in the Second World War.
Late afternoon, for daylight and then the lights after sunset.