Don Quixote

:This page is about the fictional character. For the spacecraft, see Don Quijote (space mission).

Use in Tourism

The autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha has used the fame of Cervantes's novel to promote tourism in the region. A number of sites in La Mancha are linked to the novel, including windmills and an inn upon which events of the story are thought to have been based. Several trademarks also refer to Don Quixote's characters and events.

Related Topics:
Autonomous community - Castile-La Mancha - La Mancha

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In 2004, a scholarly team lead by Francisco Parra Luna announced that it had identified the "real" hometown of Don Quixote, which is never actually named in the novel (the very first line of the book begins, “In a village of La Mancha the name of which I have no desire to recall ....”) Based on clues in the novel, along with computations of the time it would have taken a man on horseback to reach the various locations referenced by the author, the team identified the place as Villanueva de los Infantes, a small town some 144 miles south of Madrid.

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As reported in press accounts, Mariano Sabina, the mayor of Villanueva de los Infantes, said upon hearing the news: “I?m delighted that my town is the famous place in La Mancha. Now I hope the whole world will know us.”

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