Amendola studied in Naples at the Accademia delle Belle Arti. Much of his work is to be seen in Naples, including a statue of Joachim Murat for the façade of the Royal Palace and a bust of architect Enrico Alvino in the grounds of the Villa Comunale. For the Salerno theater he executed the statue of the dying Pergolesi, considered by many to be his masterpiece. He achieved great success with the Allegory of Autumn, sent to the Paris Exposition in 1878 (now in Rome, at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna). In this phase he traveled to Paris and England (1879-1884). In England, supported by the friendship of the painter Alma Tadema, he sculpted numerous portraits, acquiring a reputation as a refined and fashionable artist, especially in outlining portrait figurines of English ladies, modeled with delicate grace and elegance.