Cans of ‘Fresh Air’ From Lake Como Are on Sale for $11

Taking a cue from the “Perri Air” gag from Spaceballs, where Mel Brooks’s character President Skroob cracks open a can of air and inhales deeply, you too can pull this big boss move with canned air from Italy’s Lake Como.

The cans of air, sold by a company called ItalyComunica, are a silly novelty item promising to let visitors to the gorgeous vacation destination take home a(n almost) tangible piece of one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.

You might better know the lake as the location of George Clooney’s gorgeous villa or the shooting location for Casino Royale, one of the all-time great James Bond movies. It’s a popular destination spotlighted by pop culture for the past 20 years.

For $11 US or €9.90, you can get yourself a 400 mL can of “100% authentic air” from Lake Como and experience the delightful scents of the region from your home in Madison, Wisconsin, or wherever. In truth, they are selling you an $11 empty can, but it’s the thought that counts. It’s a stupid thought. So stupid it was literally a joke in a Mel Brooks movie, but it counts nonetheless somehow.

The idea of bottled air isn’t especially new or even novel even if it is a novelty item. In the post-World War II era, an Italian entrepreneur in Naples sold recycled cans of “Aria di Napoli,” which literally translates to “The Air of Naples.”

Canned air is now a worldwide novelty item that might one day become as ubiquitous as all those snow globes, magnets, and shot glasses you see at all the gift shops that litter popular vacation destinations. Canada and Iceland sell their own versions of canned air from beautiful locations. It’s a common gimmicky gift shop item for people looking for a souvenir to remind them of their time in a beautiful destination that they can put on a shelf.

The mayor of Cuomo, Alessandro Rapinese, thinks there are better souvenirs tourists can walk away that are more representative of the area, like the silk scarves Como is known for. But if you want to walk away with an $11 empty can, go for it. Have fun throwing it away in 10 years you on earth it from the bottom of your junk drawer.