Administratively, it is a frazione of the comune of Barga, in the province of Lucca,[1] in the Serchio Valley, where poet Giovanni Pascoli bought the house "Cardosi-Carrara".

Giovanni Pascoli spent much of his time in Castelvecchio, dedicating himself to poetry and studies in classical literature.

Here he seemed to have finally rebuilt the "nest" – his family's traditional residence;[2] the original in San Mauro was destroyed.

Giovanni Pascoli and his sister Mariù are buried in the adjacent chapel.

The sports company "Il Ciocco" hosted, in 1991, the second edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.