400 years for a knight of the form of grief

Spain is celebrating 400 years since the publication of one of the most famous works of literature, "Don Quixote". The book, which has been published and translated more than any other book in the world, except for the Bible, has been a bestseller since 1605. The book by Miguel de Cervantes tells the stories of a knight, whose mind has gone astray, and of his assistant Sancho Panza.

Statue of Don Quixote, Tuboso, La Mancha region. Researchers claim to have located his native village

Spain is celebrating 400 years since the publication of one of the most famous works of literature, "Don Quixote". The book, which has been published and translated more than any other book in the world, except for the Bible, has been a bestseller since 1605. The book by Miguel de Cervantes tells the stories of a knight, whose mind has gone astray, and of his assistant Sancho Panza.

The "BBC" reported yesterday that some researchers claim that they have now located the village of Don Quixote, described in the first lines of the book ("In the village of La Mancha..."). The mysteries surrounding the village have fascinated readers for centuries. A team of ten Spanish researchers, which includes lecturers specializing in various fields, ranging from international relations, geography and history to philology and mathematics, devoted about two years to attempts to place the unfortunate plots of Don Quixote on the map of Spain. According to them, they finally managed to determine that the village of Vainava de los Infantes, about 225 km south of Madrid, is the village mentioned in the book. The sleepy town expects a flood of tourists to flood it soon.

Don Quixote is considered the first novel in the world, and one of the most beautiful of them. "I have read thousands of books, but I have never read something that made me want to return to it like this," said Howard Mansing, a literature lecturer from the state of Indiana in the USA. At a convention in 2002, a panel of one hundred writers from 54 countries determined that Don Quixote is the best book of all time.

However, despite its great popularity in the world, only a few have read the book in its entirety. "Everyone keeps it in their bookcase, but only a small minority have read it to the end," says Juan Victorio, a lecturer in medieval literature at the Open University of Spain. The original version of the book, written in archaic Spanish, spans about a thousand pages and 126 chapters. Book publishers have published new versions, universities and other institutions are holding conferences and reading days, and Spanish companies marketing the book are receiving tax breaks on the occasion of the book's 400th anniversary. It is now distributed in even 3,500 community centers in Mexico.

"These celebrations will reach every public library in every corner," said Spain's Minister of Culture, Carmen Calvo. "The nicest gesture you can make to a book is to read it."