The Talisay Mansion Ruins...Built In the Name of Love

 Rogelio G. Balo Ph.D. 

Introduction

Every palace, mansion and monument have an exciting history behind them, yet some of these are tragic ones. While historical buildings often remind us about the history of some important events, it becomes much more exciting and memorable when it comes to edifices related to the story of unconditional love.

Without doubt, love is the feeling which helps us to live and sometimes even survive.  Besides, love is a force that makes us accomplish extraordinary feats. Oftentimes tragedy in life gave impetus to these living structures showing the purest form of unconditional love.

*The Talisay Mansion Ruins

*The Talisay Ruins is what remains of the ancestral home mansion of the family of wealthy sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson and Maria Braga Lacson.

 

The Mariano Ledesma Lacson Mansion Ruins in Talisay, Negros Occidental

Situated in Talisay, Negros Occidental, Philippines, the mansion was built in early 1900s and inspired by Italian architecture. Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson built the family’s mansion in a 440 hectare sugar plantation in Talisay City, Negros Occidental in the early 1900s in loving memory of his Portuguese wife Maria Braga Lacson, who died in a freak accident during her pregnancy of their 11th child.

During World War 2, Filipino guerrillas employed by the US Armed forces intentionally set the mansion on fire in order to prevent invading Japanese forces from being able to use the building as a military headquarters. The intention was to burn it to the ground. Despite smoldering for several days, the walls and foundation of Don Lacson’s once stately home remained sound.

After sitting idle for decades, the grounds at Talisay have been restored and reopened to the public, though the mansion is still without windows, a roof, interior walls, and much of the floor that once divided the first and second stories

Known variously as the "Taj Mahal of Talisay", "Taj Mahal of Negros" and "Taj Mahal of the Philippines", it is in the private ownership of the great-grandchildren of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson and Cora Maria Osorio Rosa-Braga. They have preserved it in its ruined state, amidst the operational farmland, as a tourist attraction.

Today The Ruins is a picturesque tourist destination with a restaurant nearby. It is a popular venue for weddings and other social events. * Wikipedia

Now, we have lots of examples proving that love can sometimes dictate how fantastic architecture is made. Hereunder, please find some of the most famous mansions, palaces and monuments built in the name of love. 

*The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Ancient history recorded that Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II constructed the luxurious Hanging Gardens in the sixth century B.C. as a gift to his wife, Amytis, who was homesick for the beautiful vegetation and mountains of her native Media. It is called the Hanging Gardens because the gardens were built high above the ground on multi-level stone terraces. The plants weren’t rooted in the earth like a traditional garden. One of the wonders of the ancient world.

*Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

Without doubt an ultimate symbol of love is the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built this white marble Taj Mahal in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

 Changes in the mausoleum’s hues show the emperor’s wife’s changing moods at different times of the day. We can see a pinkish hue in the morning, golden at night, and milky white in the evening. It is also one of the world news seven wonders, situated in Agra, a city in Uttar Pradesh, India. Taj Mahal construction took 20 years to finish this mausoleum.

A whopping 22,000 laborers, stonecutters, painters, embroidery artists built this famous mausoleum. Taj Mahal architecture is a combination of Persian, Islamic, and Indian styles. Both Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, were buried inside the plain crypt beneath its main inner chamber.

The famous Indian landmark, Taj Mahal, attracts more than a million tourists each year.

*Mirabell Palace and Gardens, Salzburg, Austria.

History records show that Mirabell Palace was originally built under the name Altenau Palace in 1606, to honor the mistress of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau, his beloved Salome Alt. She had 15 children, though only (5) five survived.

After the Prince-Archbishop’s death, the archbishop Franz Anton von Harrach made many changes to this palace. Among them, he also changed its name to Mirabell. . When his predecessor, Markus Sitticus von Hohenemes, took over, the palace was soon renamed Mirabell Palace, the name which it still holds to this day.

This lovely Mirabell Palace includes Roman gods statues, a hedge theater, gardens that admire the charming flower beds, Pegasus fountain, Grand Fountain, Orangery, and garden of baroque marble dwarfs. Everyone considered its Marble Hall as one of the most beautiful wedding halls in the world. Fire extensively damaged it in 1818. We can see this palace now in the Baroque style. Today, people used it for the most romantic weddings that we could imagine.

There is a long list of other famous Edifices built in the name of love, hereunder are some of them, among many others.

*Petit Trianon, Versailles, France

 King Louis XV built this lovely chateau between 1762 and 1768 in Versailles, France. Empress Eugenie converted this Petit Trianon into a museum in 1867 and dedicated to the life and memory of Marie-Antoinette

*Thornewood Castle, Washington USA

Chester Thorne wanted to give the very best for his overwhelming wife, Anna. So he constructed the castle using pieces from England’s 400-year-old Elizabethan manor. He dismantled and shipped it to the U.S., piece by piece, and included it in the stunning Gothic Tudor mansion. It is one of the most popular love monuments globally, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

*Prasat Hin Phimai in Phimai, Thailand

Prasat Hin Phimai Castle bestows the mysterious and enduring love and tragedy. This legendary story begins with when Pajitt’s father wanted his son to take a wife.

According to the legend, Prince Pajitt traveled the countryside for months in search of his ideal wife. Then he chanced upon to meet a pretty light-skinned pregnant lady. He fell in love with her. Pajitt considered her as his life partner. But he could not marry a widow. Therefore, he decided to marry her unborn child, Orapima, when she reached 16. As Orapima grew, they fell deeply in love with each other. Once they rested in the forest, a woodsman killed Pajitt and stole her. Orapima killed that woodsman and returned to Phimai, where she constructed a sanctuary called Prasat Hin Phimai.

Disheartened, Orapima prayed for her true love and the reincarnation of her soulmate’s spirit. Orapima built, painted, and sculpted Prasat Hin Phimai with scenes from her life with Pajitt. One day, a young man saw Orapima’s handiwork, and that brought him before her. Then she realized he was the Pajitt’s spirit. So, she finally married him, and they lived happily ever after.

*The Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida.

Edward Leedskalnin made this impressive castle for his 16-year-old fiancée, Agnes Skuvst. Unfortunately, she left him a day before their wedding. Then heartbroken, Edward planned to begin creating a monument to his unrequited love. He spent more than twenty-eight years building this castle.

This single man alone made this entire thing. We can’t imagine how he created such a structure alone because he stood only about five feet tall and weighed around 100 pounds. Additionally, he usually worked only at night to maintain privacy.

And the List goes On and On!

 

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