New
Castile-La
Mancha in Spain, Land of Castles: during the 12th century there was a
strip of
land
between the christian and the Moorish Muslim territories. The countless
castles (castillos) gave the name Castile to this region while the
name La Mancha comes from the Arab Manxa meaning (dry
land)
This tableland seems to wave smoothly towards the horizon. Even if dry,
this land is also very fruitful: wheat, saffron, olive trees and
vineyards.This
extreme landscape features part of the spanish character which is also
reflected in the figure of Don Quixote. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
published
in 1605 the first part of Don Quixote: in this tragicomic masterpiece,
an elderly gentleman sets out as a doughty knight errant in search of
adventure,
hoping to redress wrongs in the terms of the storybooks he loves; he is
accompanied by his simple but astute squire, Sancho Panza. This
cultural and art tour is an enactment of life Cervantes and the
Caracter of his Book Don Quijote.