Coffee-houses appeared for the first time at Mecca in Saudi Arabia in the 15th century. They were places where people met to talk or read the newspaper but soon they became a gathering place for intellectuals and artists. the first coffee-house in Italy was opened in Venice in San Marco’s square by Floriano Francesconi and still exists today as Caffè Florian. It was a common practice to use a coffee-house as mailing address and some coffee-houses produced new business models through novel variations in the financial field. One of the best known examples was the coffee-house opened in the late 1680s by Edward Lloyd. It became a reference point for sea captains who insured their ships and in 1771 a group of 79 underwriters collectively established the society of Lloyds, better known as Lloyds of London. The coffee- houses were associated with news and gossip and provided entertainment just like the theathre in the Elizabethan period. At the end of the 17th they also became meeting places for fashionable and artistic people who went there to exchange opinions. Journalism became to evolve thanks to the coffee-houses which were mainly attended by men.