Borsa was an Italian painter of genre and landscape scenes, as well as a portraitist. His father, Paolo Borsa, was a professor of Drawing in Milan. He initially trained with his uncle Mosè Bianchi, then studied at the Brera Academy, and finally moved to Rome. His mother was the aunt of Pompeo Mariani. He painted genre paintings and portraits, but expressed the best part of himself in Lombard landscapes, from which he eliminated the human figure. He also practiced watercolor and engraving.