One of Italy's best kept secrets, Ferrara

Italy property hunters may like to consider a home in one of the Italy’s best kept secret's, Ferrara.

According to the Guardian reports, Ferrara is as history-rich as the neighboring city of Florence in Northern Italy; Situated on the banks of the River Po and this medieval town was declared a World Heritage Site in 1995. House hunters will find themselves inside "a well-nigh perfectly preserved medieval and Renaissance city, with barely a car or a tourist to be seen." It's a popular stop for tourists traveling up from Bologna to Venice.

Tourists enjoy Ferrara in winter when the air is chilly and fog softens the features of the landscape. But the region also has summers as hot as those in southern Italy. The nearest international airport is at Bologna. British Airways flies three times daily from Gatwick airport to Bologna; EasyJet flies daily from Stansted airport to Bologna whereas Alitalia flies daily from Heathrow via Rome or Milan. Ferrara is a half-hour train journey From Bologna.

The town is still surrounded by more than 9 kilometers of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th centuries and they are the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy. The most prominent building is the square Castello Estense in the centre of the town, a brick building surrounded by a moat, with four towers. Ferrara is also host to several churches, cloisters and convents which add a spiritual air to the town.

Ferrara is the 'hot' new area that is attracting a new generation of overseas investors who are fed up with the economic gloom. The fact that it has been recently discovered by estate agents and so prices are not that increased and it is still being sold as undiscovered territory.