Acquarone started running at age 16, competing and also later coaching for various clubs; SC Borgo Peri, US Maurina (a company of which he was also a coach, sporting director and chairman), GS Riviera dei Fiori, Pedal Blue, CUS Torino and Olimpia Amateurs Rimini.

He started running middle distance races early in his career, achieving success to the regional level, but no national recognition.

The following year, in 1969, he expected to renew his athletics card with FIDAL, the Italian national governing body, but the Federation's "Federal Laws" Article 8, Paragraph 1 prohibited registering athletes over age 35 who had taken a break in competition.

From 1977 to 1980, tendonitis set in and during the long recovery, Acquarone took to cycling, racing in Italy and France.

In 2005 he was awarded a knighthood in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic[4] Acquarone died on 17 June 2024, at the age of 93.