In this part of Aragon, Spain,
some of the most interesting chapters of Don Quixote took place: that of
the boat (in fact, the representative element of Boquiñeni’s coat of
arms is the boat, that having been restored is nowadays used to link
this riverside town with Pradilla), that of the wineskins, that of
Dulcinea’s unchaining, that of the flight over Clavileño… Don Quixote
never really participated in the famous tournaments of Zaragoza, since
Miguel de Cervantes, irritated against the author of the apocryphal
Quixote, the Quixote of Avellaneda, supposedly from Aragon (nobody
really knows if he was in fact Jerónimo de Pasamonte, soldier, born at
Ibdes, who met “Lepanto’s one-handed” in several campaigns, other
academics state it was Lope de Vega himself, moved by his antagonism
with Cervantes), made the famous “hidalgo” change his way to Barcelona,
avoiding the pass through Zaragoza.
Notwithstanding, all
the towns previously mentioned, close to Zaragoza, may be visited,
including the Palace of the Dukes of Villahermosa where it seems that
Cervantes, invited by the Dukes, got his inspiration for the chapters
that take place in this region.
From Zaragoza, other
towns of La Mancha that are part of the novel may be visited. There are
even tourist trips organized that are quite attractive.
This is another
interesting cultural event, ideal complement to all the possibilities
offered for the joint SERAM-CIR Radiology Congress.
Luis
Ros Mendoza
Coordinador
Comisión Internacional del CIR
