Local Canned Air Is Being Sold as a Souvenir at Italy’s Lake Como

The hardest part of most vacations is the end. On top of bracing yourself to reenter the real world, you have to make sure you return home with souvenirs for yourself and others. Instead of settling for the typical shot glasses, key chains, or magnets, Lake Como visitors now have the option to buy canned air from the travel destination.

Communications company ItalyComunica now sells 13.5-ounce air canisters from the area at £9.90 ($11) each. The official Lake Como Air website states that each container comes with 400 milliliters (13.53 ounces) of “pure air from the most beautiful lake in the world.” It also breaks down the chemical composition of the destination’s air. ( Seventy-eight percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen, in case you were curious.) Luckily, the can will still make a good decorative souvenir after it’s opened. 

Although Lake Como is advertising the canned air on its website, it’s not sold online and can only be purchased in stores in the area. According to CNN Travel, Davide Abagnale, a marketing specialist who previously sold Lake Como posters online, came up with the idea. A spokesperson for ItalyComunica told the news source that Adagnale wanted to “create a souvenir that could be easily transported in a suitcase for tourists” and tried to make ”something original, fun, and even provocative.”

The concept of selling air isn’t new. Per CNN, Adagnale got the idea from other Italian tourist spots profiting from similar gimmicks. Outside Italy, one company sold air bottled in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of comforting homesick residents abroad. A Canadian business has also sold hundreds of cans of air to residents in China due to the country’s smog problem.        

The fresh air and world-class scenery aren’t the only features drawing tourists to Lake Como. The area is also home to Italy’s infamous “Ghost Mansion.”

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