Travel souvenirs: Canned ‘fresh air’ for sale in Italy

ItalyComunica, a communications company, has come up with a unique souvenir idea for tourists visiting Lake Como. Instead of the traditional photos and trinkets, they are selling cans of air collected from the picturesque location for €9.90 (C$15) each. Each can contains 400 milliliters of “100% authentic air” from Lake Como, a destination that has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, attracting over 5.6 million visitors in 2023.

The concept was conceived by marketing specialist Davide Abagnale, who initially started an e-commerce site selling Lake Como posters. Seeing the popularity of San Francisco and Los Angeles posters during his honeymoon in 2022, he wanted to create a unique and portable souvenir for tourists. The canned air is intended to be a tangible memory that can be easily transported in a suitcase and even repurposed as a souvenir pen holder once opened.

While some may find the idea of buying canned air unusual, others see it as a fun and quirky keepsake. Como mayor Alessandro Rapinese, while not fully endorsing the idea, believes that as long as tourists also take home traditional souvenirs like silk scarves, taking a can of air as a memento is acceptable.

This trend of selling bottled air is not unique to Lake Como. Other Italian tourist spots like Naples have been offering cans of local air for years. In 2020, a company in the UK started selling bottles of “authentic” air from different regions of the country. Similarly, tourists visiting Iceland and even Canada have the option to purchase canned air as a quirky souvenir.

Overall, while the concept of buying bottled air may not be for everyone, it adds a fun and playful element to traditional souvenir shopping. Whether it’s a tangible memory or just a novelty item, the idea of capturing the essence of a place in a can is definitely a unique way to bring a piece of your vacation home with you.