List of the oldest newspapers

This list of the oldest newspapers sorts the newspapers of the world by the date of their first publication. The earliest newspapers date to 17th century Europe when printed periodicals began rapidly to replace the practice of hand-writing newssheets. The emergence of the new media branch has to be seen in close connection with the simultaneous spread of the printing press from which the publishing press derives its name. The oldest extant newspaper in the world still issued under its original title is the Gazzetta di Mantova, regularly published in Mantua, Italy, since 1664.