Many have shown their feelings of love to someone in many ways, may it be in songs, poems, love letters, etc. But Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson has his unique way of pledging his testament of love to Maria Braga in the 1900s. Blessed with 10 children in Talisay City, in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines, the married couple spent their years of love until an unfortunate accident happened. Bearing their 11th child, Maria slips on their bathroom floor and causing her to bleed endangering both her life and the baby. With no hospital nearby, Mariano and Maria drove 2 hours going to Silay City where the hospital is situated, but with no luck, both Maria and the baby passed before they arrived at the hospital. The broken-hearted Don Mariano, shaken by the event contacted the city's local engineers and built a mansion using quality cement and beams that makes the mansion strong as a testament to his love for his loving wife and child. He left their old house and lived in the mansion together with his 10 children.
During WWII, guerillas feared that the mansion will be used as a Japanese stronghold which forced them to burn the mansion to the ground. With the quality of materials used in the construction, it took the mansion to fire for 3 days before its woods and floors turn into dust.
Up until now, the strong skeleton of the mansion was erected in Talisay City, Negros Occidental in the Philippines, and remained a beautiful site to visit. The locals started to call the mansion The Ruins which has been a famous venue for wedding receptions and a tourist spot.
It is heart-warming to hear stories of love from other people but as I visited the place I fell in love with the testament of love that I witnessed in The Ruins.
