Riccardo Picchio (1923-2011) is an Italian and Slavic linguist. He graduated in

Slavic Studies Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic areas, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was prim ...

at the Sapienza University of Rome. In 1947 he was an editor in the magazine

L'Avanti ''Avanti!'' is a 1972 American/Italian international co-production comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's play, w ...

. For two years he taught Italian (1948–49) at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

, where, under the influence of

Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński (September 20, 1891 – February 17, 1965) was a Polish linguist, scholar, and professor of Slavonic studies. He was twice elected rector of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków before and after the Nazi German occupat ...

, he focused on paleoslavistics and later specialized in Bulgarian at Paris under Roger Bernard and

old Russian literature Old East Slavic literature, also known as Old Russian literature, is a collection of literary works of Kievan Rus', Rus' authors, which includes all the works of ancient Rus' theologians, historians, philosophers, translators, etc., and written in ...

at Andre Mazon. Between 1953 and 1961 he was a professor at the Universities of Florence and

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, and then headed the Institute of Slavic Philology at the University of Rome, La Sapienza (1961–65). In 1965–1966 he was a visiting professor at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York, and beginning in 1968, for almost two decades, he was a professor of Slavic literature at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in New Haven. When he returned to Italy in 1985, Riccardo Picchio became Professor of Russian,

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...

and

Bulgarian Literature Bulgarian literature is literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria, or written in the Bulgarian language; usually the latter is the defining feature. Bulgarian literature can be said to be one of the oldest among the Slavic peopl ...

at the University of Oriental Institute of Naples, where he retired in 1993. He is the author of the concept "Slavia", which in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

split into " Eastern Slavs" and "

Western Slavs The West Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak the West Slavic languages. They separated from the common Slavic group around the 7th century, and established independent polities in Central Europe by the 8th to 9th centuries. The West Slavic langu ...

" - two simultaneously existing but developing cultures along different paths depending on the different geographical, linguistic and confessional areas to which also include the introduction of the terms "

Slavia Orthodoxa Slavia may refer to: Toponymy * Slavia, a general term for an area inhabited by Slavs * Slawiya, one of the tribal centers of early East Slavs * The medieval name for the Wendish settlement area * The medieval name for the duchy of Pomerania * Th ...

" and "

Slavia Latina Slavia may refer to: Toponymy * Slavia, a general term for an area inhabited by Slavs * Slawiya, one of the tribal centers of early East Slavs * The medieval name for the Wendish settlement area * The medieval name for the duchy of Pomerania * Th ...

" to mean them.Riccardo Picchio
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References

Cyrillo-Methodian studies Linguists from Italy Italian philologists Slavists Italian expatriates in Poland Italian expatriates in France Italian expatriates in the United States University of Paris alumni University of Florence University of Pisa University of Warsaw faculty Columbia University faculty Yale University faculty Foreign Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences 1923 births 2011 deaths {{Italy-bio-stub