Salt air drifts up from the coastline below and settles over a stone balcony that has stood since the 1600s. From here, three levels up, the view stretches past terracotta rooftops, over the town of Pettineo, across to Motta d’Affermo, and down to a ribbon of Mediterranean coastline that seems to glow at this hour. This is what it feels like to stand on the top balcony of this restored stone house in Tusa, Sicily, and it is the kind of view that makes you stop talking mid-sentence.
Now picture doing that every single morning, coffee in hand, with nothing between you and that sea view but a few hundred years of history. Walk down one flight and the view is still there, just from a different angle, framing the countryside and its olive groves instead. Walk down again and it is still there. That is the rare thing about this particular home. The sea and mountain views follow you through the entire house, floor after floor.
A 17th Century Home Reborn in Tusa’s Centro Storico
This house sits in the centro storico (historic center) of Tusa, a hill town on Sicily’s north coast that we have helped a good number of our viewers buy into already. It is easy to see why once you are standing in these stone streets.
The home itself dates back to the 1600s, and it still shows its age in all the best ways. Original stone lintels, a wooden beam left exposed in one bedroom niche, and even a trace of the blue mineral coating once used during the plague era are all still visible where the restoration team chose to preserve rather than cover.
That restoration happened about eight years ago, in 2017, and it was done properly. The roof is new, the plumbing and electric are updated, and there is central heating throughout, but none of it erased the character that makes a centro storico home worth buying in the first place.
We often show homes that still need work, because that is where the real deals are. This one is different. It is what those project homes look like once someone has already put in the vision, the time, and the budget to finish the job.
The Bedrooms and Baths Featuring Custom Doors and Ancient Niches
Climbing up from the entry, the first stop is a bathroom with an oversized shower, custom hardwood doors, and fixtures that feel more boutique hotel than centuries-old farmhouse. Having three full bathrooms in a centro storico home is genuinely rare.
The first bedroom carries an original wooden beam inside a plastered wall niche, a small detail that tells you this was never a total gut renovation, just a very careful one. Every closet door, even the small ones, is solid hardwood and beautifully finished.
Step out onto the first balcony and you are looking straight down the original stone street, where a French family who recently restored a neighboring home was out grilling dinner when we visited. That is the kind of neighborhood this is.
The Kitchen and Its Stone Counters with a Blue Resin Story
A short run of six steps brings you up into the kitchen, where solid oak or chestnut shelving lines the walls above a stone countertop. Rather than leaving the countertop’s natural holes exposed, the restoration team filled them with a blue resin that matches the backsplash tile.
It is a small design choice, but it says a lot about the attention paid throughout this restoration. The open beam ceiling above the kitchen is new, since it went in with the new roof, yet it still reads as original to the house.
Sea Views from Every Level
What really sets this house apart is how the view changes as you move through it, without ever disappearing. From the kitchen you can already see out toward the front of the house through an original stone-framed window.
Keep climbing and you reach the top room, open to the kitchen below for that airy, connected feeling you would not expect from a 1600s structure. Three more steps up and you are on the top balcony, standing beside the cistern once used to hold the town’s water supply.
From there, three stories above the street, the sea view opens up completely. Rooftops fall away below you, the coastline curves out toward the horizon, and on a clear day it genuinely does not get much better than this.
The Terrazzo Perch at the Top of the House
This terrazzo (rooftop terrace) is where you would spend your evenings. It is simple, just stone, a clothesline, and that endless view, but that simplicity is exactly the point.
Coming back down, the mid-level balcony offers a different angle again, framed entirely in original stone that was never altered, just cleaned up and preserved.
The Lower Level’s Journey from Stable to Cantina to Modern Utility
The ground floor is where the house’s age is most visible. The stone floors here are genuinely thick, not a thin facing, and the risers on the stairs were carved from the same stone to keep the look consistent.
This lowest room, with its original stone arch, was likely once used as a stable, with the back area probably serving as a cantina (cellar) a few hundred years ago. Today it holds extra storage, a half bath, and a laundry room, all finished to the same standard as the rest of the house.
From here you can exit onto a second street at the back of the property, one wide enough to drive a car on if needed. Having two points of entry into a centro storico home is a genuine convenience most old town houses do not offer.
Property Highlights of This Restored Stone Home in Tusa
- 147 square meters (about 1,582 square feet) of restored living space
- Three bedrooms and three bathrooms, unusually spacious for a centro storico property
- Fully restored in 2017 to modern living standards while preserving original stonework and beams
- Private balconies on every floor, each with sea and mountain views
- A rooftop terrazzo with sweeping Mediterranean panoramas
- Original thick stone floors and custom solid hardwood doors throughout
- Central heating installed on every level
- Lower-level cantina and storage space, likely a former stable
- Two separate street entrances for easy ingress and egress
- Watch the full property tour
- Featured in Episode 47
Please note: our property tours stay online long after filming, and homes like this tend to sell quickly, so this one may no longer be available. If it has already sold, we can still help you find something similar. Tell us your dream, and we’ll help make it real.
A Sea View Home Ready to Move Into in Tusa
Homes like this do not come along often. Most of the centro storico properties we bring you need vision, patience, and a real renovation budget. This one hands you all of that work already finished.
What stays with us most is the view. Three balconies, a rooftop terrazzo, and a sea view that follows you up every single flight of stairs, all wrapped inside walls that have stood since the 1600s.
If you have been dreaming about la dolce vita (the sweet life) on Sicily’s north coast but do not have the time or patience for a full restoration project, this is exactly the kind of home worth a closer look.
We would love to help you picture your own mornings on that top balcony, coffee in hand, looking out over Tusa toward that same stretch of Mediterranean coastline.
