Villanueva de los Infantes is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the province of Ciudad Real,

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, , ), or Castile La Mancha, is an autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, it was created in 1982. The government headquarters are in Toledo, and ...

, Spain. It has a population of 5727 people. It is the capital of the ''comarca'' (region) Campo de Montiel. It has been designated by the

Universidad Complutense de Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university lo ...

as "El Lugar de La Mancha" (The Place in La Mancha) mentioned at the start of ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

. It is also known as the place where

Francisco de Quevedo Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas, Knight of the Order of Santiago (; 14 September 1580 – 8 September 1645) was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora ...

died; his remains were found in 2007 in the church of San Andrés Apostol (St. Andrew's Church). It is possible to visit the room in the convent where Quevedo spent his final days. The convent is now the church of Santo Domingo (Saint Dominic) and this room is situated inside it. It is also the town where

Thomas of Villanova Thomas of Villanova (1488 – September 8, 1555), born Tomás García y Martínez, was a Spanish friar of the Order of Saint Augustine who was a noted preacher, ascetic and religious writer of his day. He became an archbishop who was famous for ...

grew up. The economy is based on tourism, wine and olives. The town should not be confused with another Villanueva de los Infantes, in the province of Valladolid, which is part of the Castile and León autonomous community. The patron saint of Villanueva de Los Infantes is Our Lady the Virgin of La Antigua, a 13th-century carving known in the Middle Ages as Santa María de Jamila. It was crowned canonically on the last Saturday of May 2000, by the Prior Bishop of Ciudad Real, Rafael Torija de la Fuente. His feast day is celebrated on September 8, coinciding with the Nativity of Our Lady. The patron saint is Santo Tomás de Villanueva, whose feast is celebrated on September 18, with pontifical privilege (the feast of Santo Tomás de Villanueva is celebrated on October 10).

References

Municipalities in the Province of Ciudad Real Miguel de Cervantes {{CastileLaMancha-geo-stub