Who owns the inn where Don Quixote and Sancho enter in Part I?

Juan Palomeque owns the inn where Don Quixote and Sancho enter in Part I.

Palomeque, often identified by the nickname “the Left-handed,” is the innkeeper of one of the novel’s most important settings. Don Quixote mistakes the ordinary roadside inn for an enchanted castle, interpreting its rooms, guests, and servants through the lens of chivalric romances.

The inn becomes a stage for several comic misunderstandings and violent encounters. Sancho is tossed in a blanket by amused guests, while Don Quixote becomes involved in confusion surrounding Maritornes, muleteers, and other travelers. Later episodes involving the priest, the barber, and multiple narrated stories also converge there.

The innkeeper is not one of the novel’s central heroes, which makes him easy to confuse with other Part I figures. Pero Pérez is the priest, Ginés de Pasamonte is a galley slave, and Roque Guinart appears in Part II. Palomeque’s inn, however, repeatedly anchors the action of Part I.