Salt air drifts up from the coastline below while you sip your morning coffee on a rooftop terrace carved right into the medieval bones of a Sicilian hilltop town. Below you, stone rooftops tumble down the hillside toward the Tyrrhenian coast, an ancient church tower rises just over your shoulder, and somewhere off in the distance the water catches the early light and turns it silver. This is the view that greets you every single day if you make Casa Francesco your home in Tusa.
We walked through this house ourselves, room by room, and it is the kind of property that keeps surprising you. You think you have seen the best view from the kitchen window, and then you step out onto the roof terrazzo (rooftop terrace) and realize the house saved its biggest moment for last. At just €60,000, this is one of those rare finds where medieval character, real living space, and a genuine sea view all show up in the same address.
Discovering Casa Francesco in Tusa
Tusa sits on Sicily’s beautiful north coast, a hilltop village with about 3,200 year round residents. It has the kind of medieval charm you picture when you dream of Italy, narrow stone streets, an ancient tower, houses literally built into the rock.
But it is not a museum town. Tusa has restaurants, coffee bars, markets, and yes, even a gas station. You get the fairy tale setting without giving up daily conveniences.
Casa Francesco is one of these old stone houses, built directly into the rock the way homes here have been for centuries. Ben venuti (welcome) to a property that blends that old world structure with a genuinely livable, move in ready layout.
A Walk Through Casa Francesco, Room by Room
The house offers 130 square meters of living space (about 1,400 square feet), spread across three floors, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. That does not even count the bonus rooms we will get to shortly.
The Ground Floor Cantina, a Blank Canvas
You enter through a vestibule, and just off to the right is the first cantina (cellar), a bonus room not counted in the official living space. It could easily become a mudroom, a home office, or even a little powder room.
There is some minor water staining here from an old roof tank leak, but it is cosmetic. The stone bones underneath are solid.
The First Floor’s Bright Bedrooms and a Private Balcony
Climb the marble stairs, with their nice iron railing and a satisfying 180 degree turn, and you land on a first floor bedroom full of natural light. It looks out at more old stone houses and a glimpse of that ancient tower.
Down the hall, a larger room already set up with an armadio (built in closet system) and its own small plumbed bathroom could easily become a proper master suite. There is enough room to expand that bathroom into a full three quarter bath if you wanted.
And then there is the surprise. Step out from what would be your walk in closet area and you land on a private balcony looking over the rooftops, with a fico d’india (prickly pear cactus) growing wild right out of a gutter. It is the kind of view that makes you stop mid sentence.
The Top Floor Kitchen and Its Sweeping Coastal View
Up on the top floor, the kitchen is genuinely move in ready, with a solid slab of Carrara marble counter and a built in wood burning oven that has clearly been there for generations.
But it is the view while you cook that stays with you. Sea and mountain views layer behind a foreground of medieval stone rooftops and a church tower, a combination you simply cannot manufacture anywhere else.
A Retro Bathroom Full of Character
The top floor bathroom is fully plumbed and in good shape, with a shower over tub setup. It also comes with a full set of purple fixtures, pedestal sink, bidet, and toilet, that are honestly some of the most unique we have seen.
Whether you keep the purple or renovate around it is entirely up to the next owner, but the plumbing and hard finishes are all ready to go.
The Laundry Room and Rooftop Access
Past a cozy sitting and dining area, there is a genuinely rare find for a home like this, a separate laundry room, complete with a substantial laundry sink. It is built as an aluminum extension off the main structure.
And that laundry room is exactly where the house opens onto its true showstopper.
The Roof Terrace and the Coastal Views of Tusa
The roof terrazzo at Casa Francesco is large, private, and looks straight out over the street below toward a beautifully renovated neighboring stone house. Your terrace, though, has far more room to work with.
You could extend the existing aluminum cover for more shade, or leave it open and simply enjoy the natural afternoon shade the position already provides. Either way, this is your spot for a glass of wine at sunset, watching the light shift over the coastline in the distance.
You can reach this terrace two ways, straight from the laundry room or back through the salon, so it genuinely feels like an extension of daily living space rather than an afterthought.
The Two Cantinas Below, Storage and Possibility
Beyond the main house, Casa Francesco comes with two separate cantinas, neither of which counts toward that 130 square meter living space. The first is small. The second is a real bonus.
Inside the second cantina, you will find stone walls under a light calce (limewash) coating, chestnut wood beams overhead, and even an old trough once used for the family mule. There is already a sewer line excavated here from a prior bathroom setup, which makes converting this space into real living area a realistic project down the line.
Life in Tusa, a Medieval Village on Sicily’s North Coast
Beyond the walls of Casa Francesco, Tusa itself has a rhythm we really love. It is just about 10 minutes from the beach, so coastal life is always within easy reach.
There is even a local artist cooperative in town, a communal space where creative types gather to work, adding another layer to the village’s character beyond its medieval streets and ancient tower.
Property Highlights of Casa Francesco in Tusa
- 130 square meters of living space (about 1,400 square feet)
- 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms
- Rare separate laundry room
- Two bonus cantinas (cellars), not included in the 130 square meter living space
- Large roof terrazzo with sweeping eastern coastal views
- Just 10 minutes from the beach
- Located in Tusa, a hilltop medieval village of about 3,200 year round residents, with restaurants, coffee bars, markets, and a gas station
- Watch the full property tour
- Featured in Episode 41
- Asking price: €60,000
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.
We invite you to read one buyer’s story about what it’s really like to work with us throughout the entire buying journey.
Your Own Slice of Medieval Sicily Awaits
Casa Francesco is not a polished, fully finished product, and that is part of its charm. It is a solid, move in ready stone home with real bones, real character, and a view that genuinely stops you in your tracks.
Between the private balcony, the top floor kitchen, and that showstopping roof terrazzo, this house gives you multiple places to just stand still and take in the coastline and the medieval rooftops of Tusa.
At an asking price of €60,000, with room to negotiate, this is exactly the kind of affordable Italian property we get excited to share. It is move in ready, it has bonus space to grow into, and it comes with a lifestyle in a real, living village rather than a tourist stage set.
If Tusa’s blend of medieval charm, coastal proximity, and that sweeping sea view sounds like the Italian dream home you have been picturing, this one is worth a serious look.
