WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — To prepare for the second round of the presidential debates, President Obama retreated here this weekend — to the environs of this historic village where actors in 18th century garb wander about spouting off in colonial diction.

But as Mr. Obama huddled with close aides on the spectacular resort grounds of what was the Kingsmill Plantation in the 17th century, the history that dominated his presidential study sessions was of a far more recent kind: how not to repeat the mistakes he made at his first debate with Mitt Romney a week and a half ago, when he stood by passively as an aggressive Mr. Romney dominated him, abruptly curtailing Mr. Obama’s momentum and turning the campaign upside down.

The president and his aides were clearly taking debate prep far more seriously this time around. Mr. Obama has scheduled more time, and his aides say that they will try to keep interruptions to a minimum. He is on a resort with not one, but three, golf courses, but he did not bring his clubs and had no plans to hit the links. There will not be any visits to historic sites (he was criticized for going to the Hoover Dam when he was supposed to be studying for the last debate, in Denver); his sole off-campus excursion on Sunday took only half an hour. It was to a campaign field office here where he made a few phone calls to volunteers, delivered pizza to staff members, and pronounced his debate prep as “going great” in answer to a shouted question from a reporter.

Incongruously, a Ferrari convention was taking place at the president’s James River resort — called “Ferraris on the James.” The cars, which glided to the river — in clear view of the main building where Mr. Obama was doing his prep sessions — were accompanied by the ubiquitous Ferrari-owner types who stood around languidly, hands in the pockets of their crisply ironed slacks, while valet attendants peered at various undercarriages. No word on whether the president found it distracting.