Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 on the west coast of Galicia, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

Cape Finisterre is sometimes said to be the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

. However, this is not true, since Cabo da Roca

Cabo da Roca

Cabo da Roca is a cape which forms the westernmost extent of mainland Portugal and continental Europe...

, in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, actually the westernmost point of Continental Europe

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

, is about 16.5 km farther west. The name of Cape Finisterre, like that of Finistère

Finistère

Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, derives from the Latin name Finisterrae, which literally means "Land's End".

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

Fisterra

Fisterra , in Spanish usually Finisterre, is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Fisterra is on Cape Finisterre, the final destination for many pilgrims on the Way of St. James....

 is nearby.

Geography

Cape Finisterre 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

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

).

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.

Pilgrimage

Cape Finisterre is the final destination for many pilgrims

Pilgrims

Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...

 on the Way of St. James

Way of St. James

The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

, the pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

 to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great

Saint James the Great

James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...

 in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral of the archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial-place of Saint James the Greater, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. It is the destination of the Way of St...

. Cape Finisterre is about a 90-km walk from Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

. 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

Pre-Christian

Pre-Christian may mean:*before Christianization**historical polytheism *BC**Classical Antiquity**Iron Age...

 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

Muxia

Muxia is a coastal town in the province of A Coruña, in Galicia, Spain. It is one of the final destinations for pilgrims on the Way of St. James after visiting the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in Santiago de Compostela.Muxia is known for its spectacular beaches...

, which is a day's walk away.

Pre-Christian beliefs

In the area there are many pre-Christian sacred locations. There was an "Altar Soli" on Cape Finisterre, [writer has confused Finisterre with Finistère] where the Celts engaged in sun worship and assorted rituals.

Greco-Roman historians called the local residents of Cape Finisterre the "Nerios". Monte Facho was the place were the Celtic Nerios from Duio 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. There is a Roman Road

Roman road

The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

 to the top of Monte Facho and the remnants of ancient structures on the mountain.

San Guillerme, also known as St. William of Penacorada, lived in a house located on Monte Facho. 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.

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

Battle of Cape Finisterre

Three naval battles fought between Britain and France near Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain are known as the battle of Cape Finisterre:*The first battle of Cape Finisterre on 14 May 1747 was a victory for a British fleet under Admiral George Anson, in the War of the Austrian Succession* The...

". The coast, known locally as the Costa da Morte

Costa da Morte

Costa da Morte is part of the Spanish Galician coast. The Costa da Morte extends from the villages of Fisterra and Malpica.The Costa da Morte received its name because there have been so many shipwrecks along its treacherous rocky shore...

(Death Coast), has been the site of numerous shipwrecks and founderings, including that of the British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 ironclad HMS Captain

HMS Captain (1869)

HMS Captain was an unsuccessful warship built for the Royal Navy due to public pressure. She was a masted turret ship, designed and built by a private contractor against the wishes of the Controller's department...

, leading to the loss of nearly 500 lives, in 1870.

Additionally, laws governing the colonies of the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 (including the 1766 amendment to the Sugar Act

Sugar Act

The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on April 5, 1764. The preamble to the act stated: "it is expedient that new provisions and regulations should be established for improving the...

 of 1764) used the latitude of Cape Finisterre as the latitude past which certain goods could not be shipped north directly between British colonies. For instance, it was forbidden to ship sugar cane directly from Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 to Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, as such a transaction crossed through this latitude. 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

Robert FitzRoy

Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...

 area on the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Shipping Forecast

Shipping Forecast

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. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The forecasts sent over the Navtex...

. The FitzRoy area was renamed in 2002 to avoid confusion with the Spanish Finisterre peninsula.

External links

• A 360 degree view from the Fisterra lighthouse
• Picture Gallery of Fisterra
• Faro de Finisterre video of Monte Facho