Ribeirão Preto
Montanari was born in Sertãozinho, São Paulo state inside the territory of the archdiocese of Ribeirão Preto. He attended elementary school from 1965–1969 in Sertãozinho. He went on to study law and economics at the University of Ribeirão Preto. Montanari obtained a BA in Philosophy from the Centre for Studies of the archdiocese of Ribeirão Preto.