Since October, the air of Lake Como can be purchased in a tin for 9.99 euros.

The initiative by the Como-based agency ItalyComunica is not entirely new in the international marketing world, where the sale of "pure air" from famous tourist destinations like Switzerland or Iceland increasingly relies on the symbolic, emotional, and intangible value of certain experiences.

The idea of attributing an enduring value to the ultimate immaterial element, air, was first explored by Marcel Duchamp in 1919, when he came up with the ironic readymade Air de Paris for his friend and collector Walter Arensberg, a sealed glass ampoule containing Parisian air that seems to be the conceptual reversal of Lake Como Air. “I was looking for a gift for Arensberg, who already owned everything money can buy,” Duchamp wrote, “so I brought him a vial of Parisian air. However, today, fueled by the strength of our collective imaginations, air can be purchased

The souvenir stems from the idea that “memories are not bought but lived”, hence the 100% “authentic Lake Como air” can, with its detailed listing of components (Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Neon, Argon, and other gases), can only be sold in local stores, encouraging tourists to visit the lake area in person. The Lake Como Air, as stated on its dedicated website, is ideal “for anyone wishing to rediscover the peace and elegance of this heavenly corner, sealed in a tin”, which can be opened to “seek a moment of escape, tranquility, or beauty,” and later recycled as a pen holder.Inizio modulo

Opening image: Lake Como Air tin, Courtesy Lake Como Air.