The arrangement of Aegean palaces is of two main types.
It has created palaces, but it was not so easy to create noblemen and kings.
The old (1678) and new (1873) episcopal palaces, the hospital, the university and the barracks (formerly a Franciscan monastery) are noteworthy examples of Spanish colonial architecture.
But the most characteristic features of architecture in the country are shown in the forts and palaces of the chiefs and in their cenotaphs.
The colder winter climate of mainland Greece dictated the use of fixed hearths, whereas in the Cretan palaces these seem to have been of a portable kind, and the different usage in this respect again reacted on the respective forms of the principal hall or " Megaron."