Coolly Reaching Home, Tourists Can Now Buy Souvenirs With Fresh Air From Lake Como Italia

Italian Como Lake (Freepik/wirestock)

JAKARTA - If tourists usually bring home photos or typical souvenirs as a memento from the holidays, now there is one unique option offered by Italy, which is a can filled with fresh air from Lake Como, Italy.

Reported by VOI from the CNN page on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, an Italian communications firm ItalyCommunica has created a unique innovation. The company sells fresh air from Lake Como in cans for 9.90 euros or around Rp. 166,000 per can.

Each of these cans is claimed to contain 400 milliliters of original 100 percent air collected directly from Lake Como. This is a destination that is increasingly popular among tourists, because of its beauty and its connection with celebrities.

Celebrity George and Amal Clooney own a nearby house and are set for the film House of Gucci. In 2023, more than 5.6 million people visited Lake Como. According to Lombardy Tourism data, this number continues to increase.

To take advantage of the surge in tourist numbers, a marketing specialist named Davide Abagnale initially created an e-commerce site selling Lake Como posters, after he saw a large number of posters about San Francisco and Los Angeles during his honeymoon in 2022.

"The innovation this time, selling air in the can. It aims to create souvenirs that are easy to bring home in suitcases by tourists and something original, fun, even provocative," a ItalyCommunica spokesperson told CNN.

"It's not just a product, but a real memory that you can bring in your heart," Abagnale told CNN, adding that after tourists go home and open the can, they can use it as a souvenir pen.

However, not everyone agrees with this idea. Como Mayor Alessandro Rapinese said selling the air in the can was not the first idea he had in mind. He prefers that tourists bring home other more distinctive souvenirs, such as the famous silk scarf from the area.

"That's a new idea, but not for everyone. But as mayors in one of the most beautiful cities in Italy, if anyone wants to take home the air from here, it doesn't matter, as long as they also bring fond memories of this area," Rapinese told CNN.

Chiara Piscitelli, who sold the cans at her book store in Como, called it a unique and interesting "gadget".

Although this idea seems new and creative, Lake Como is not the only tourist destination in Italy that offers air in a can.

Abagnale revealed that the idea was inspired by other locations, such as Naples, which have been selling local air in cans for years.

In fact, in 2020, a company began selling authentic air bottles from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to provide home-flavor sensations for British residents abroad.

Tourists can also buy air cans in Iceland. Meanwhile, a Canadian company experienced a surge in sales in 2015 when hundreds of Chinese customers started buying the air can.

With more and more unique and unexpected ways to bring home holiday memories, the fresh air in the can from Lake Como can can be one of the most different and attractive souvenirs for tourists who want to feel the typical atmosphere of the place they visit.