Unusual souvenir Now you can buy air from Lake Como in a can
Tourists usually bring home magnets or key rings from their vacations. But on Lake Como in Italy, you can now buy a different kind of souvenir: fresh air in a can.
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- Tourists on Italy's Lake Como can now buy a can of "authentic air" from the region as a souvenir for just under 10 euros.
- The idea from marketing expert Davide Abagnale is intended to offer guests a tangible and humorous reminder of the region.
- This type of souvenir is already on offer in other places such as Naples and Iceland.
- Not everyone approves of the canned air from Lake Como; Mayor Alessandro Rapinese, for example, would prefer more traditional souvenirs such as silk scarves.
Tourists returning from their trip usually bring home local specialties, magnets, pens or key rings as souvenirs for their loved ones.
All water under the bridge, because in northern Italy there is now a more unusual souvenir: the communications company ItalyComunica is now offering tins with the air of Lake Como for 9.90 euros (the equivalent of 9.30 francs) each. CNN reports on this.
Each can contains 400 milliliters of "100 percent authentic air" from Lake Como, a place that has become increasingly popular thanks to its scenic beauty and celebrities such as George (63) and Amal Clooney (46), who own a house there. Films such as "Casino Royale" and "House of Gucci" were also filmed there.
According to the Lombardy tourist office, over 5.6 million people visited the region in northern Italy in 2023. And the numbers are rising steadily.
Souvenir is "original, entertaining and even provocative"
In order to benefit from these visitor numbers, marketing expert Davide Abagnale has come up with something original: His idea of selling cans of air is intended to create an easily transportable souvenir for tourists that is "original, entertaining and even provocative", as an ItalyComunica spokesperson explained to the news channel.
"It's not a product, but a tangible memory to carry in your heart," Abagnale tells CNN, adding that the cans can be used as pen holders once opened. So even after the air has evaporated, they are still a valuable souvenir.
Novel idea that doesn't go down well with everyone
The unusual souvenir does not meet with everyone's approval. The mayor of Como, Alessandro Rapinese, for example, said that air in a can was not his first choice for tourists.
As CNN writes, the politician would prefer them to take other souvenirs such as the region's famous silk scarves.
"It's a novel idea, but it's not for everyone," he told the news channel. "But as mayor of one of the most beautiful cities in Italy, it's fine if someone wants to take something of our air with them, as long as they also take back fond memories of the area."
Lake Como is not the first place where there is air to take away
But this is not the first time the quirky souvenir has been offered. Other vacation destinations had the same idea before Abagnale: Naples and Iceland, for example, have been selling fresh air to take away for some time.
Since 2020, a company has also been selling "authentic" air from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the form of bottles.
This article was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). All content taken from AI is verified by the editorial team.
