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Unveiling the physics that governs the intertwining between the nanoscaleself-organization and the dynamics of insulator-to-metal transitions(\textit{IMT}) is key for controlling on demand the ultrafast switching instrongly correlated materials and nano-devices. A paradigmatic case is the\textit{IMT} in V$_2$O$_3$, for which the mechanism that leads to thenucleation and growth of metallic nano-droplets out of the supposedlyhomogeneous Mott insulating phase is still a mystery.  Here, we combine X-ray photoemission electron microscopy and ultrafastnon-equilibrium optical spectroscopy to investigate the early stage dynamics ofisolated metallic nano-droplets across the \textit{IMT} in V$_2$O$_3$ thinfilms. Our experiments show that the low-temperature monoclinicantiferromagnetic insulating phase is characterized by the spontaneousformation of striped polydomains, with different lattice distortions. Theinsulating domain boundaries accommodate the birth of metallic nano-droplets,whose non-equilibrium expansion can be triggered by the photo-induced change ofthe 3$d$-orbital occupation. We address the relation between the spontaneousnanotexture of the Mott insulating phase in V$_2$O$_3$ and the timescale of themetallic seeds growth. We speculate that the photoinduced metallic growth canproceed along a non-thermal pathway in which the monoclinic lattice symmetry ofthe insulating phase is partially retained.

Early-stage dynamics of metallic droplets embedded in the nanotextured Mott insulating phase of V$_2$O$_3$