page_title: Negros Occidental
section_title: The Ruins
hierarchical_section_title: Negros Occidental / Landmarks / The Ruins
caption_attribution_description: English: The ruins of the mansion of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, Bacolod, Philippines. Français&#160;: Les ruines du palais de Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson à Bacolod aux Philippines. Italiano: Le rovine del palazzo di Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson a Bacolod, Filippine.
context_page_description: Negros Occidental is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Bacolod. It occupies the northwestern half of the large island of Negros, and borders Negros Oriental, which comprises the southeastern half. Known as the "Sugarbowl of the Philippines", Negros Occidental produces more than half the nation's sugar output.
  Negros Occidental faces the island-province of Guimaras and the province of Iloilo on Panay Island to the northwest across the Panay Gulf and the Guimaras Strait. The primary spoken language is Hiligaynon and the predominant religious denomination is Roman Catholicism. Bacolod is the capital, seat of government and the most populous city of the province, but is governed independently as a highly urbanized city. With a population of 2,497,261 inhabitants, it is the most populated province in Western Visayas, the second most-populous province in the Visayas after Cebu and the 8th most-populous province of the Philippines.
context_section_description: The mansion dates back to the 1900s when it was built by sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson for his first wife, Maria Braga, a Portuguese from Macau whom he met in his vacations in Hong Kong. The mansion's structure is of Italianate architecture enhanced by a belvedere complete with renaissance-type balustrading typical of the homes of English ship captains. It was burned down in World War II to prevent the Japanese from using it. It was opened to the public by descendants of the original owner and is listed as among the World's 12 most fascinating ruins.
caption: The Ruins, Talisay City
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