Through the lands of La Mancha: Puerto Lapice

Welcome to the land of the ingenious gentleman, Don Quixote de la Mancha, where, in the first instance, I have the pleasure of inviting you to know one of the first places, where our distinguished writer, Miguel de Cervantes, wanted him to star in one of the first episodes of a series of adventures, misadventures and cabalistic mysteries - according to some authors - that would make his novel, an immortal work, known throughout the world.

But before starting to talk about the current place, allow me to invite you to learn a little about its ancient history, which includes some of the impressions that well-known travelers, such as the excellent engraver, Gustavo Doré, recorded in their chronicles, when they visited the place. .

Doré, who accompanied Baron Charles Davillier on his trip to Spain, which occurred approximately in 1863, used to say that Puerto Lapice, contrary to the opinion of the knight himself, Don Quixote de la Mancha, saw in it a place where would find a great number of adventures, it could hardly be considered as a town, since it gave the impression of being a 'meeting place of some hovels'.

A detail that did not prevent him, however, from being carried away by the implicit romanticism of a place and some lands, which have as a precedent their foundation by the Romans and where the all-powerful Roman emperor, Trajan, is supposed to have spent the night during his visit also by these lands annexed to the Empire.

It is true that there is no record of the walls of the old fortress, where it is assumed that such an imperial overnight took place, but there is a trace and so many historians record it, of La Venta (Inn) where Don Quixote, after beating two Benedictine monks and confronting the gallant Biscayan, who apparently mistook a malefactor for criminals who were taking prisoner a lady, also a Biscayan, who was on his way to Seville, was knighted.

Currently and presumably for reasons related to the restrictions of the pandemic known as Covid-19, the Venta (Inn) of Don Quixote, as such is the name it currently receives, is temporarily closed, although it has always been and is to be expected Let it continue to be a meeting place for travelers who come or go to Andalusia, as another of the characteristics of this place is that it is strategically located and is a mandatory stop and inn.

Next to the Venta de Don Quijote, there is the church of Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo, from a relatively modern period, but following the patterns of Romanesque art, which during the period known as the Middle Ages was considered and with good reason, as' the art of Christianity '.

The main street, the one that crosses and divides Puerto Lapice into two, is dedicated, how could it be otherwise, to the figure of the immortal writer, Miguel de Cervantes, whose statue, located in the shadow of the arcades of the house that At the moment she does the library service, how could it be less, she remains undaunted, giving free rein to her flowery imagination, with the pen and the inkwell ready so as not to miss any flash of singularity in her work.

A few meters in front of the library, barely separated by a narrow alley that disappears towards the neighborhoods of little houses -the whiteness of the lime of whose facades, together with the hot sun that characterizes the Manchego summers, came to make travelers like Francisco de Paula Mellado, who fueled the blindness of its inhabitants - a curious framework, which acts as the Main Square, powerfully draws attention for its fascinating and beautiful architecture.

Unlike in the majority of La Mancha towns, lost to the limelight in communities such as Ciudad Real, Albacete and Toledo, the Main Square of Puerto Lapice is modern in design, a detail, however, that does not in any way detract from it. the elegance and beauty that usually characterize these places, whose history and services constitute, by themselves, a cultural landmark that is worth knowing.

This type of Main Squares, whose quadrilateral shape and several floors, respond to the class called 'corralas' and in addition to being a place of habitation and inn for travelers, they were the soul of the peoples, since all the Relevant events, from improvised theaters, where the works of the most distinguished writers of the Spanish Golden Age were represented, the silent romances - those that numerous peddlers interpreted through huge posters that contained the power implicit in symbols and images, specially designed for the interpretation of an essentially illiterate people- the bullfights –because they served as a bullring and burladeros- to the political and social events that were related to the community.

In that sense, well I can assure you, that in any of these larger squares, let's say this same one in Puerto Lapice, either in the hot sun that warms the Manchego summers or in the pale light of a moon studded by the same court. of stars that encouraged the mystical dreams of the knight Don Quixote, it is an immeasurable delight to stop to rest and at the same time, taste the delicious gastronomy of La Mancha, generally consisting of dishes such as migas, tropezones, pisto or lamb stew, without forgetting an exquisite and world-famous product: Manchego cheese.

Although their number has diminished over the years, it is impossible not to enter Puerto Lapice and feel, from the top of its hills, the impassive gaze of those giants against whom the intrepid knight Don Quixote fought and who made him bite. the dust, both him and his skinny horse, named Rocinante: the windmills.

More humble, in proportion, than those of neighboring Consuegra, the three windmills that the traveler observes in the distance, are a clear indication that he is entering an undoubtedly 'magical' region, whose spell, without a doubt, lies in the survival of a great myth, the Cervantes, that will leave on your palate, I have no doubt, a pleasant taste in your mouth and a thousand and one anecdotes and adventures that you can tell your friends and family.

And among them, of course, there is the typical affability of the manchego, always ready to have a good conversation and to show every traveler the delights of a land that I intend to discover little by little.

NOTICE: Both the text and the photographs that accompany it, as well as the video that illustrates it, are my exclusive intellectual property and therefore, are subject to my Copyright.

Related Movie:

Disclosure: Posts on TravelFeed may contain affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure.