Salt-tinged wind sweeps across a hilltop terrace, and below you the Sicilian coastline unfurls in a wide, westerly sweep toward the Tyrrhenian Sea. Up here, above the rooftops of Motta d’Affermo, the view stretches past neighboring hill towns and rolling mountains before dropping to the water in the distance. This is the kind of sea view that makes you stop mid-sentence, coffee in hand, and just stare.
Now picture that view belonging to not one, but two stone houses, connected to each other, sitting on the same hillside, and priced together at a number that sounds almost too good to be real. We are talking about two adjoining properties for €25,000 combined. This is a renovation project, not a move-in-ready home, but the bones are here, the space is enormous, and the potential is the kind we get genuinely excited about.
Arriving in Motta d’Affermo, a Hilltop Village with a View of the Sea
Motta d’Affermo sits up in the mountains above Sicily’s north coast, and it is one of those villages that rewards you the moment you climb high enough. The panoramic views here are not just of the sea. You also get sightlines across other hilltop towns and the surrounding mountain ridges.
Before we get to the tour, it helps to know how these wholesale-style deals work. We do not clean properties up before showing them, because these are unfinished, as-is opportunities, and what you are buying is potential, not polish. What we do instead is build a clause into the offer that compels the seller to clear the place out before closing, so you are not the one hauling out old tires and clutter.
While we were in the area, we also stopped by the notaio (notary) office with a viewer turned friend, Christian, who was closing on his own renovation purchase in a nearby town. Meeting the sellers face to face at that closing table is part of how these purchases unfold in Sicily. You are not buying from a faceless listing, you are stepping into a family’s story, sometimes an inheritance being passed along, and there is something quietly moving about being present for that handoff.
The Steel-and-Concrete Garage with a Loft Overhead
We entered through a set of steel doors that were originally set up as a mechanic’s garage, since the current owner, Antonino, ran his shop out of this space before relocating it down near Santo Stefano. The construction here is iron, column and beam, all reinforced concrete, and the walls are impressively straight for a structure this old.
Ceilings in this section run up to about 4 meters high, and that extra height is what creates a full loft level above the garage floor. You could keep this as a two-car garage and workshop, or wall off sections for storage and turn the rest, including the loft, into finished living space.
This ground-floor area is also where the two parcels physically connect. Parcel 100 and parcel 101 share this space, with a tile floor that could easily be redone to suit whatever you have in mind.
The Stone House, an Ancient Tufo Structure Awaiting Its Second Life
Next door, connected through an archway cut into an ancient stone wall, is the older of the two structures, built from tufo (a soft, cut volcanic stone). A legal, permitted brick addition was added on top years ago as a third level, but it was never finished inside.
Walking through, you see exposed brick and I-beam construction that is solid and straight, so you are not fighting warped wood floors or structural surprises. One room even has a beam running across it that does not appear to support anything, which gives you real flexibility if you want to open up the layout.
There is also a narrow space, about a meter and a half wide, that looks like it may have been intended as a bathroom. Every corner here is a blank canvas, full of old clutter right now, but the seller will clear it before closing.
The Upper Floor Sea View, Just Three Meters Higher
Climb the stairs in the stone house and the sea view that teased you from ground level opens up even further, framed right through the window. It is only about three meters higher than the floor below, but that small gain in elevation makes a noticeable difference in how much coastline you can see.
Above this level sits yet another floor, one that could easily become a master suite built specifically to take advantage of that vantage point. Waking up here, with the Mediterranean stretched out below your window, is the kind of daily moment that makes a renovation project worth the effort.
Property Highlights of Casa Antonino
Here is a quick snapshot of what this two-house complex in Motta d’Affermo offers.
- Two adjacent, connected stone structures on the same parcELInterior, totaling 236 square meters (about 2,540 square feet) of living space
- An additional 50 square meter (about 540 square feet) loft area above the garage
- The newer house offers 56 square meters (about 600 square feet) per floor across three floors
- The stone house offers 34 square meters (about 365 square feet) per floor across two floors
- Sweeping westerly views of the Sicilian coastline and sea from multiple levels
- Ground floor garage with roughly 4 meter ceilings and steel garage doors, ideal for a workshop, studio, or two-car garage
- Legally permitted brick addition, giving you a compliant starting point even in the historic center
- Sold as an unfinished, wholesale-style renovation project, with the seller clearing the property before closing
- Watch the full property tour
- Featured in Episode 61
- Asking price: €25,000
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.
Curious what it’s really like to work with us? Read a real buyer’s journey to Italy from first call to closing day.
Your Two-House Renovation Awaits in Motta d’Affermo
This is not a polished, move-in-ready listing, and we want to be upfront about that. What it is, though, is a rare amount of raw space and structural potential for €25,000, split across two connected homes with permitted construction already in place.
The sea view alone sets this property apart. From the upper floors, the coastline and hilltop towns spread out before you, and it only gets better the higher you climb.
If you have the vision to look past exposed brick, old tires, and unfinished rooms, there is a real home here, maybe even two rental-ready units divided across the separate street entrances. Add a bathroom, a kitchen, some stairs to the loft, and you are most of the way to a finished space that captures one of the best views on this stretch of the north coast.
We love projects like this because the upside is so tangible. If Motta d’Affermo and this kind of hands-on renovation speak to you, this could be exactly the blank canvas you have been searching for in Sicily.
