Legend & Literature in Cornwall

Cornwall, in the south-west of England, is a place which attracts tourists all the year round. It has mild weather and a spectacular coastline with beautiful bays and coves.
Not surprisingly, there are a hundred and one things for tourists to do in Cornwall. Seaside resorts like Newquay, which have wide, clean beaches, are very popular with families and also with people who like water sports, especially windsurfing and surfing. Land's End -the famous "last place" in mainland Britain- has restaurants, amusements and wonderful coastal views. People who prefer to get away from the crowds can visit one of the many fishing villages along the coast, watch the seals at Cornwall's Seal Sanctuary or go inland onto the moors where the scenery is much wilder.
History lovers will enjoy seeing the village and ruined castle of Tintagel, where they can learn about Camelot and the legend of King Arthur. Or they can visit Poldhu Cover near Mullion, where Marconi, the Italian inventor, sent the first wireless signal across the Atlantc in Canada in 1901.
Cornwall has plenty to offer those who are interested in art and literature. Many artists and writers have lived and worked there. Famous names include the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, who had her studio in St Ives, the writer Daphne du Maurier, who wrote her best selling novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, and the poet John Betjeman. Also in St Ives there is a branch of the famous art gallery, the Tate.
Like many beautiful places in the world there is another side to Cornwall, which visitors do not always see. Cornwall is quite isolated and, apart from tourism, there is not a lot of work for local people. Mining and fishing, which were once major industries, have almost disappeared and there is a high level of unemployment. The result is that many young Cornish people move away to places where they are more likely to find jobs.
Cornwall may sound like a tourists' paradise, but local people know that life can be hard when visitors leave.

Legend: A Saint and a Storm

The first American saint, Rose, was born in the city of Lima, Peru, and lived there her entire thirty-one years. An astonishing natural beauty, Rose went to great length to ruin her looks: rubbing pepper on her face to cause a blotchy complexion; dipping her smooth, soft hands into lime, and on one occasion, pushing a pin on her head. In addition, she deprived herself of food, drink and sleep on a regular basis and became a Dominican nun. When her parents were bankrupted for speculating in the mining business, Rose went to work sewing and labouring in the garden. She lived the latter part of her life as a recluse in a small hut in her garden, dying of an illness that was apparently caused by her severe mental and physical habits. She is often shown wearing a garland of roses on her head.
St Rose’s storm takes place in the Southern Hemisphere around 5 days before or after August 30th. According to legend, Rose and a group of followers tried to prevent some Dutch pirates from disenbarking at the city of Lima. People began to attribute the breaking of a storm just at that moment and the pirates' escape to Rosa's mystical powers and thus the legend began.
The legend became particularly strong in Argentina, especially in the area around the Río de la Plata, the province of Córdoba and the area of Cuyo. There is even a place called like her in the province of Mendoza.
Rose of Lima is the patron saint of South America and the Philippines and her feast day is on August 30th. Her real name was Isabel but, when she was a baby, a servant claimed to have seen her face transform into a rose so her name was changed "Rosa".