Britain

Big is beautiful

|newcastle-upon-tyne

IN THE Tuscan villages where Tony Blair takes his holidays, medieval lords used to vie with each other by seeing who could build the biggest bell-tower. This campanalismo, as the Tuscans call it, ought to be familiar to Mr Blair: it now seems to be experiencing a renaissance in the north-east of England, where his parliamentary constituency lies. The weapon of choice, oddly enough, is public art.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Big is beautiful”

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