While there are many modern steel buildings built in my home province, Negros Occidental, but nothing beats visiting historic buildings such as the ancestral homes in Silay and the most popular one in Talisay City, The Ruins.

This mansion was built around 1900s by the sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma for his first wife, Maria Braga. It opened its doors to the public last January 2008, and we were fortunate to visit it in December of the same year. It was an unplanned visit though, and we were in a hurry so we really didn’t get to see the structure from inside.

What remains of the house in just the skeletal frame after American forces burned it to prevent the Japanese forces from making it as their headquarters but even so, its beauty still stands out.

A comeback to this enchanting place is mandatory. Have to plan it soon!

*Thanks to Aileen Tee-Gee for the pic.