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Return to the very first tempo of the piece (as opposed to the most recent tempo).
Use Tempo primo (or Tempo I) when returning to the opening tempo after the music has passed through several different tempi. It is more specific than a tempo, which means "the tempo we were just in."
Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica"), first movement — Tempo I markings appear at structural recapitulation points, restoring the opening Allegro con brio.
Tempo primo is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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