 The café has historical prominence because of its role in the 1848 riots against the Habsburg monarchy, as well as for being an attraction for artists over the last century from the French novelist Stendhal to Lord Byron to the Italian writer Dario Fo.Between the 18th and 19th centuries, coffee consumption by the expanding bourgeoisie of Europe at public establishments expanded.In 1772 the Francesco Pedrocchi of Bergamo founded a successful "coffee shop" here, near the University, town hall, markets, post office and the square of the Noli (now Piazza Garibaldi), from where coaches left to nearby cities.