His father, a notary, was strongly opposed to him pursuing a career in music, and he initially studied piano secretly with Pietro Labriola and Michelangelo Russo.

His uncle Marco d'Arienzo, a lawyer by profession and a prolific librettist by avocation, paid for the lessons and helped the young Nicola to overcome his father's opposition.

A comic opera with a libretto in Neapolitan dialect, Monzù Gnazio made a strong impression on Mercadante who took d'Arienzo under his wing, offering both advice and encouragement.

The critic from Gazzetta musicale di Milano praised the opera for its "good taste, dramatic force, original melodies, and brilliant orchestration".

[2] After 1880, d'Arienzo devoted his compositional activity primarily to instrumental and sacred music but composed one final opera, La fiera, which premiered at the Teatro Nuovo 1887 to great success.

In 1921, his widow, Carolina De Monte d'Arienzo, donated the entire collection of his manuscripts, scores, and an oil portrait of him by Vincenzo La Bella to the library of the San Pietro a Majella conservatory.