Empty cans containing air from Lake Como are being flogged to gullible tourists for £8.40 (€10) a pop.
The sealed 400ml containers are being sold at a bookshop and a restaurant on the lake, as well as in Menaggio and Lenno, two other popular destinations at the holiday hotspot.
They have an aerial image of a motorboat speeding across the idyllic Italian lake and have been on sale since early October.
Davide Abagnale is a consultant for Italy Comunica – the marketing company which dreamt up the cans.
He believes the souvenirs will appeal to American tourists whose numbers have skyrocketed since Hollywood actor George Clooney bought a villa on the lake more than a decade ago.
‘We wanted to create a reminder that people can easily take home in their suitcases,’ Mr Abagnale, 36, told The Times.
‘When the can is opened it obviously loses its charm a bit.’
Other locals are less than impressed with the idea. One told the Ansa news agency: ‘I think it’s better to breathe the actual air of Como.
‘Buying it doesn’t bring the same satisfaction.’
Another said the gimmick made him feel ‘ashamed’.
Regardless of its merits, tourism is booming in the Lombardy region – with a record 5.6 million visitors last year, according to the region’s observatory.
The cans, which are bought in the Netherlands and sealed in Como, were inspired by another canned air product sold in New York for years.
The concept is believed to have been invented in post-war Naples, where empty food containers left by American soldiers were resealed and rebranded as souvenirs.
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This is said to have been inspired by French artist Marcel Duchamp who took a 50cc empty vial and labelled it ‘Air de Paris’ before giving it to a friend in 1919.
And while tourists bring undoubted benefits, their rising numbers have also created problems.
In September, Bellagio – a village on the lake’s shores – limited tour groups to 25 and banned guides from using megaphones after becoming overrun.
Alessandro Rapinese, a local mayor who has previously floated the idea of a Venice-style entry fee for the region, admitted that the new cans would not be top of his to-buy list.
But, he added: ‘If someone wants to take away a bit of our air, then please do.’
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While the cans are currently sold only in Como, Mr Abagnale said this could be extended online in the future.
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