Background
Straulino was born in Lussinpiccolo (Mali Lošinj), on the island of Lussino (Lošinj) (at that time part of Austria-Hungary, but now part of Croatia).
Straulino was born in Lussinpiccolo (Mali Lošinj), on the island of Lussino (Lošinj) (at that time part of Austria-Hungary, but now part of Croatia).
He later attended the Naval Academy at Livorno and embarked on a career in the Italian navy.
Straulino gained his first sailing experiences as a child on the Kvarner Gulf of the northern Adriatic Sea. At the 1936 Summer Olympics he was a reserve sailor. During World World War II Straulino served in the Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS during its operations in Gibraltar.
After the war he became the commanding officer of the Italian training vessel Amerigo Vespucci for some time and eventually rose to the rank of Rear Admiral.
He first competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics and finished fifth in the Star class. The climax of his career as a sportsman was his gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
Mali Lošinj pronounced him an honorable citizen. Straulino was the initiator of Lošinjska regata, a sailing competition.
Straulino died in Rome in 2004.
In line with his final wish, he was buried in the town of birth, Mali Lošinj (formerly Lussinpiccolo).
Like most Italians living in territories which, after World World War II, were ceded to the new socialist state of Yugoslavia, the property of his family was nationalized and expropriated by Tito, and despite leaving of the island of his birth at a young age, Straulino was so deeply in love with his island that he was regular visitor, especially after he retired and always wanted to know what was going on Lošinj.