Cape Finisterre (Galician: Cabo Fisterra) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. Galicia (occasionally Galiza) is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. [1]
Cape Finisterre is sometimes said to be the westernmost point of Spain. However, this is not correct, since other locations in Spain are further west. Cape Finisterre is located at . Cabo da Nave is about 5 kilometers northwest of Cape Finisterre, and is located at . Punta Laxial on Cape Touriñán is about 20 kilometers north, and is even further west, since it is located at . This part of Spain is also not the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the Continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European That honour belongs to Cabo da Roca in Portugal, which is about 16. Cabo da Roca (Cape Roca is a cape which forms the westernmost point of both mainland Europe and Mainland Portugal. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. 5 km further west. The name of Cape Finisterre, like that of Finistère in France, derives from the Latin name Finisterrae, which literally means "Land's End". Finistère (Penn-ar-Bed is a département of France, located in Brittany ( Breizh in Breton and Bretagne This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.
Monte Facho is the name of the mountain on Cape Finisterre, which has a peak that is 238 meters above sea level. A prominent lighthouse is at the top of Monte Facho. The seaside town of Fisterra is nearby. Fisterra is a Municipality of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia.
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Geography
Cape Finisterra has some spectacular beaches, including O Rostro, Arnela, Mar de Fora, Langosteira, Riveira, and Corbeiro. Many of the beaches are framed by steep cliffs leading down to the "Mare Tenebrosum" (or dark sea, the name of the Atlantic in the Middle Ages).
There are several rocks in this area associated with religious legends, such as the "holy stones", the "stained wine stones", the "stone chair", and the tomb of the Celtic crone-goddess Orcabella. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts [2]
Pilgrimage
Cape Finisterre is the final destination for many pilgrims on the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Pilgrims, or Pilgrim Fathers (or Pilgrim Mothers) is a name commonly applied to the early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth The Way of St James or St James' Way ( Galician O camiño de Santiago, Spanish name El Camino de Santiago) In Religion and Spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or Search of great Moral significance The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e For people and places called Saint James, see the Saint James disambiguation page Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is situated in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain Cape Finisterre is about a 90-km walk from Santiago de Compostela. Santiago de Compostela (also Saint James of Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia and a UNESCO World It is a recent tradition for pilgrims to burn their clothes or boots at the end of their journey at Cape Finisterre.
The origin of the pilgrimage to Finisterre is not certain. However, it is believed to date from pre-Christian times and was possibly associated with Finisterre's status as the "edge of the world". The tradition continued in medieval times, when "hospitals" were established to cater to pilgrims along the route from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre.
Some pilgrims continue on to Muxia, which is a day's walk away. Muxia (in Galician: Muxía; in Spanish: Mugía) is a coastal town in the province of A Coruña, in Galicia,
 Camino de Santiago, Fisterra |
 Pilgrim's boot in Fisterra |
 Fisterra lighthouse |
Pre-Christian beliefs
In the area there are many pre-Christian beliefs and sacred locations. The Way of St James or St James' Way ( Galician O camiño de Santiago, Spanish name El Camino de Santiago) There was an "Altar Soli" on Cape Finisterre,[3] where the Celts engaged in sun worship and assorted rituals. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts [4][5]
Greco-Roman historians called the local residents of Cape Finisterre the "Nerios". [6] Monte Facho was the place were the Celtic Nerios from Duio[7] carried out their offerings and rites in honor of the sun. Monte Facho is the site of current archaeological investigations and there is evidence of habitation on Monte Facho circa 1000 BCE. [8] There is a Roman Road to the top of Monte Facho and the remnants of ancient structures on the mountain. The Roman Roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news [9]
San Guillerme, also known as St. William of Penacorada,[10] lived in a house located on Monte Facho. Cistierna is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. Near San Guillerme's house is a stone now known as "St William's Stone" (Pedra de San Guillerme). Sterile couples used to copulate on St. William's Stone to try to conceive, following a Celtic rite of fertility. [3]
Maritime history
Because it is a prominent landfall on the route from northern Europe to the Mediterranean, several nearby battles are named the "Battle of Cape Finisterre". The coast, known locally as the Costa da Morte (Death Coast),[11] has been the site of numerous shipwrecks and founderings, including that of the British ironclad HMS Captain, leading to the loss of nearly 500 lives, in 1870. Costa da Morte (ie the Death Coast is part of the Spanish Galician coast See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands An ironclad was a steam-propelled Warship of the later 19th century protected by Iron or Steel armor plates Background The history of the Captain can be traced back to the Crimean War and the experiences of British captain Cowper Phipps Coles in 1855
Additionally, laws governing the colonies of the British Empire (including the 1766 amendment to the Sugar Act of 1764) used the latitude of Cape Finisterre as the latitude past which certain goods could not be shipped north directly between British colonies. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The Sugar Act (citation 4 Geo III c 15 officially called the American Revenue Act, passed on April 5, 1764, was a revenue-raising Act For instance, it was forbidden to ship sugar cane directly from Jamaica to Nova Scotia, as such a transaction crossed through this latitude. Sugarcane ( Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's Instead, the laws required that the sugar cane be shipped first from Jamaica to England, where it would be re-exported to Nova Scotia.
Finisterre was the former name of the current FitzRoy area on the UK Shipping Forecast. Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy ( 5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS ''Beagle'' The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Shipping Forecast is a four-times-daily BBC radio broadcast of Weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. The FitzRoy area was renamed in 2002 to avoid confusion with the Spanish Finisterre peninsula.
References
- ^ Photograph of Cape Finisterre, seen from the air, facing east
- ^ Orcabella is a Celtic goddess that takes the form of a hag and has a prodigious sexual appetite. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts A goddess is a Female Deity. Many Cultures have goddesses Often deities are part of a polytheistic system that includes several deities Humans cannot hurt Orcabella; they only see her or feel her. Orcabella has many features that are similar to the Irish crone-goddess, Cailleach Bhéirre (LA MITOLOGÍA Y EL FOLKLORE DE GALICIA Y LAS REGIONES CÉLTICAS DEL NOROESTE EUROPEO ATLÁNTICO, Manuel ALBERRO, Inst. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world In Irish and Scottish mythology, the ga '''Cailleach''' ( Irish plural ga ''cailleacha'', Scottish Gaelic plural gd ''cailleachan'' /kalʲəxən/ of Cornish Studies, University of Exeter)
- ^ a b A picture of St. The University of Exeter (usually abbreviated as Exon for post-nominals) is a University in the South West of William's Stone can be seen on the webpage Stoneland, Walk Around Galacia, Paralaia; Spanish and Galician for Foreigners
- ^ Finisterre or The End of the World - Finisterre, Galicia, Spain, Arturo Conde, BootsnAll Travel Network
- ^ Fisterra, Comunidade Virtual da Costa da Morte
- ^ History of Corcubion, Corcubion City Council's Website
- ^ Duio was formerly the location of the Nerios settlement and commercial center of Dugium, a town destroyed by a flood (Duio, Comunidade Virtual da Costa da Morte).
- ^ BELLAS TIERRAS CON PROFUNDAS RAICES EN LA HISTORIA, ARQUEOLOGÍA - CANGAS, vigo en fotos website
- ^ Monte Facho, Google Earth community website
- ^ St. William of Penacorada, Catholic online Saints and Angels
- ^ Stricken oil tanker sinks, 19 November, 2002, BBC News
External links
- A 360 degree view from the Fisterra lighthouse
- Picture Gallery of Fisterra
- Faro de Finisterre video of Monte Facho
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