Italy's ancient walking routes: could they be Europe's ultimate slow travel experience?
Key takeaways
- Pilgrims have walked to Rome for more than a thousand years.
- Many of those ancient roads still exist, still waymarked, still walked.
- Slow travel, the idea that how you move through a place matters as much as where you end up, is now one of the fastest-growing segments of cultural tourism in Europe.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
This content is produced by commercial departments and does not involve Euronews editorial staff or news journalists. The funding partner has control of the topics, content and final approval in collaboration with Euronews’ commercial production department. Italy's ancient walking routes: could they be Europe's ultimate slow travel experience? Castel di Tora - Copyright iStock Updated: 18/05/2026 GMT+2 - 18:50 Share Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp From Alpine passes to medieval hill towns, volcanic uplands and river valleys, five of Europe's great walking routes cross through Italy. And, of course, all roads lead to Rome.
That pull towards Rome is nothing new. Pilgrims have walked to Rome for more than a thousand years. They came from England, Germany, the Baltic states and across the Mediterranean world. The roads they followed carried ideas, faith, trade and identity across the continent.
Many of those ancient roads still exist, still waymarked, still walked.